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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON.     N.    J. 

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V 


COMMENTARY 


ON    THE 


HOLY    SCRIPTURES: 

CRITICAL,  DOCTRINAL,  AND  HOMILETICAL. 

WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE  TO  MINISTERS  AND  STUDENTS 

BT 

JOHJST   PETER  V<LASTGE,  D.  D., 

ORDINARY  PROFESSOR  OF  THEOLOGY  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY   OP   BONN, 
or  aovnurioii  with  a  number  of  eminbbt  European  divot* 

TRANSLATED,   ENLARGED,   AND  EDITED 


PHILIP   SOHAFF,  D.  D., 

PROFESSOR   OF  THEOLOGY   IN  THE  UNION   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.   NEW   TORE, 
IX     CONNECTION     WITH     AMERICAN     SCHOLARS     OF     VARIOUS     BVANOELICAL     DENOMINATIONS. 


70».«ME  XIV.  OV   THE  OLD  TESTAMENT:  CONTAINING  THE  MINOR  PROPHETS 


NEW  YORK: 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS, 

181)(J 


THK 


MINOR  PROPHETS 


EXEGET1CALLY,  THEOLOGICALLY.   AND   HOMILETICALLY 


EXPOUNDED 


PATTL    KLEINERT,   OTTO    SCHMOLLER, 

GEORGE   R.  BLISS,  TALBOT  W.  CHAMBERS,   CHARLES  ELLICTT, 

JOHN   FORSYTH,  J.  FREDERICK   McCURDY,   AND 

JOSEPH    PACKARD. 


EDITED  BY 

PHILIP   SOHAFF,  D.  D. 


NEW   YORK: 

CHARLES     SCRIBNER'S     SONS, 

1«99 


Attend  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  vear  1874,  Or 

Scribner,  Armstrong,  akd  Compant, 
IB  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Trow's 
Printing  and  Bookbinding  Company, 
205-213   East  12/A  St., 

NEW    YORK. 


PREFACE  BY  THE   GENERAL  EDITOR 


The  volume  on  the  Minor  Prophets  is  partly  in  advance  of  the  German  original, 
which  has  not  yet  reached  the  three  post-exilian  Prophets.  The  commentaries  on  the  nin« 
earlier  Prophets  by  Professors  Kleinert  and  Schmoller  appeared  in  separate  number! 
some  time  ago 1 ;  but  for  Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  Malachi,  Dr.  Lange  has  not,  to  this  date, 
been  able  to  secure  a  suitable  co-laborer.2  With  his  cordial  approval  I  deem  it  better  to 
complete  the  volume  by  original  commentaries  than  indefinitely  to  postpone  the  publication. 
They  were  prepared  by  sound  and  able  scholars,  in  conformity  with  the  plan  of  the  whole 
work. 

The  volume  accordingly  contains  the  following  parts,  each  one  being  paged  separately :  — 

1.  A  General  Introduction  to  the  Prophets,  especially  the  Minor  Prophets,  by 
Rev.  Charles  Elliott,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Exegesis  in  Chicago,  Illinois.  The 
general  introductions  of  Kleinert  and  Schmoller  are  too  brief  and  incomplete  for  our  purpose, 
and  therefore  I  requested  Dr.  Elliott  to  prepare  an  independent  essay  on  the  subject. 

2.  Hose  a.  By  Rev.  Dr.  Otto  Schmoller.  Translated  from  the  German  and  en- 
larged by  James  Frederick  Mc Curdy,  M.  A.,  of  Princeton,  N.  J. 

8.  Joel.  By  Otto  Schmoller.  Translated  and  enlarged  by  Rev.  John  Forsyth, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Chaplain  and  Professor  of  Ethics  and  Law  in  the  United  States  Military 
Academy,  West  Point,  N.  Y. 

4.  Amos.  By  Otto  Schmoller.  Translated  and  enlarged  by  Rev.  Talbot  W 
Chambers,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  New  York. 

5.  Obadiah.  By  Rev.  Paul  Kleinert,  Professor  of  Old  Testament  Theology  in  the 
University  of  Berlin.  Translated  and  enlarged  by  Rev.  George  R.  Bliss,  D.  D.,  Professor 
in  the  University  of  Lewisburg,  Pennsylvania. 

6.  Jonah.  By  Prof.  Paul  Kleinert,  of  the  University  of  Berlin.  Translated  and  en- 
larged by  Rev.  Charles  Elliott,  Professor  of  Biblical  Exegesis  in  Chicago.8 

7.  Micah.  By  Prof.  Paul  Kleinert,  of  Berlin,  and  Prof.  George  R.  Bliss,  of  Lewis- 
burg. 

8.  Nahum.  By  Prof.  Paul  Kleinert,  of  Berlin,  and  Prof.  Charles  Elliott,  of 
Chicago. 

9.  Habakkuk.     By  Professors  Kleinert  and  Elliott. 

1  Obadjah,  Jonah,  Mieha,  Nahum,  Hdbakuk,  Zephanjali.  Wissenshaftlieh  undfilr  den  Qebraueh  der  Kirch*  ausgelegt  earn 
Patji  Kledtebt,  Pfarrer  zu  St.  Gertraud  und  a.  Professor  an  der  Universitdt  zu  Berlin.  Bielefeld  u.  Leipzig,  1868.  —  DU 
Propheten  Hosea,  Joel  und  Amos.  Tneologisch-homiletisch  bearbeitet  von  Otto  Schmollbb,  Licent.  der  Theologie,  Diaconus 
m  Uraeh.  Bielef.  und  Leipzig,  1872. 

2  The  commentary  of  Rev.  W.  Psesshx  on  these  three  Prophets  (Die  nachexUisehcn  Propheten,  Ootha,  1870)  wai 
originally  prepared  for  Lange's  Bible-work,  bnt  was  rejected  by  Dr.  Lange  mainly  on  account  of  Pressel'a  views  on  tha 
genuineness  and  integrity  of  Zechariah.  It  was,  however,  independently  published,  and  was  made  use  of,  like  other 
commentaries,  by  the  authors  of  the   respective  sections  in  this  volume. 

8  Dr.  Elliott  desires  to  render  his  acknowledgments  to  the  Rev.  Reuben  Dederiek,  of  Chicago,  and  the  Rev.  Jaeok 
Lotke,  of  Faribault,  Minnesota,  for  valuable  assistance  in  translating  some  difficult  passages  in  Kleinerf*  Commentaries 
id  Jonah,  Nahum,  and  Habakkuk. 


PREFACE   BY   THE   GENERAL  EDITOR. 


10.  Zephaniah.     By  Professors  Klein  krt  and  Elliott. 

11.  Haggai.     By  James  Frederick  McCurdy,  M.  A.,  Princeton,  N.  J. 

12.  Zechariah  By  Rev.  Talbot  W.  Chambers,  D.  D.,  New  York.  (See  special 
preface.) 

18.  Malachi.  By  Rev.  Joseph  Packard,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  in 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Alexandria,  Virginia. 

The  contributors  to  this  volume  were  directed  carefully  to  consult  the  entire  ancient  and 
modern  literature  on  the  Minor  Prophets  and  to  enrich  it  with  the  latest  results  of  German 
and  Anglo-American  scholarship. 

The  remaining  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  are  all  under  way,  and  will  be  published  ai 
fast  as  the  nature  of  the  work  will  permit. 

PHILIP   SCHAFF. 

Owiok  Tksolsccom   Sbwha-w,  Nrw  Yom  .  .'jnuary,  1874. 


THE 


BOOK    OF    HOSEA. 


EXPOUNDED 


OTTO   SCHMOLLER,  Ph.  D. 

UBACH,    WtJRTEMBERG 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE   GERMAN,    WITH  ADDITIONB, 


JAMES  FREDERICK  MCCURDY, 

INSTRUCTOR  IN  ORIENTAL   LANGUAGES,  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  PRINCETON,  M. 


NEW  YORK: 
CHARLES     SCEIBNER'S    SONS, 


filtered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1874,  by 

Scribner,  Armstrong,  and  Company, 
fat  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


HOSEA. 


INTRODUCTION. 

§  1.  Person  of  the  Prophet} 

The  name  37EPH,  which  occurs  in  ver.  2,  as  well  as  in  the  superscrijition,  ver.  1,  s  gnifies 
deliverance,  salvation.  It  was  a  name  not  uncommon  among  the  Jews.  The  last  monarch 
of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  ~  furnishes  another  familiar  instance.  It  was  also  the  original  name 
of  Joshua,  having  been  changed  by  Moses  to  37K?irP.  The  LXX.  write  the  name  'Clo-ne 
(for  which  Paul,  however,  in  the  citation  from  our  Prophet,  writes  'Cla-ni),  the  Vulgate  Osee, 
and  Luther,  more  conformably  to  the  Hebrew  pronunciation,  Hosea.  The  Prophet's  name  = 
Deliverance,  stood  thus  in  marked  contrast  to  the  aim  of  his  mission,  —  the  announcement  of 
ruin  and  destruction.  And  yet  it  well  agreed  with  his  vocation  as  a  messenger  of  God,  to 
return  to  whom  would  have  been  the  only  but  the  sure  way  to  deliverance.  So  also  the  final 
"  deliverance  "  of  God's  people  was  the  grand  object  kept  in  view  through  all  the  terrors  of 
the  judgment  denounced  upon  apostate  Israel.  Thus  the  position  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Book  of  the  Twelve  Prophets,  occupied  by  Hosea,  was  truly  significant. 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  Prophet  we  have  no  direct  information.  Only  the  name  of  his 
father,  Beeri,  is  mentioned  in  the  superscription.  But  we  may  be  justified  in  seeking  his 
home  in  that  region  which  is  clearly  presented  as  the  scene,  of  his  labors,  namely,  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Israel.  It  is  true  that  we  have,  in  Amos,  an  instance  of  a  prophet  sent  from 
Judah  into  the  Kingdom  of  Israel,  as  also  in  the  case  of  the  prophet  mentioned  in  1  Kings 
xiii.  But  if  Hosea  also  had  been  so  commissioned,  the  fact  would  probably  have  been 
recorded  as  something  unusual,  as  was  done  in  the  case  of  Amos.  Yet  prophets  were  not 
unknown  in  the  Kingdom  of  Israel  (e.  g.,  Jonah  under  Jeroboam  II.,  2  Kings  xiv.  25,  and, 
previously,  Elisha  with  the  school  of  young  prophets  trained  by  him).  But  the  perfect  famil- 
iarity with  the  circumstances  and  topography  of  the  northern  kingdom,  displayed  by  Hosea, 
furnishes  positive  evidence  that  he  belonged  to  that  region  (comp.  chaps,  v.  1 ;  vi.  8,  9  ;  xii. 
12;  xiv.  6  ft".).  That,  in  chap,  ii.,  he  calls  it  directly  "the  land,"  and,  in  chap.  vii.  5, 
terms  its  king  "  our  king,"  would  seem  to  prove,  further,  that  he  resided  there,  while  his 
diction  betrays  an  Aramaic  coloring,  in  forms  as  well  as  in  particular  words.  His  frequent 
casual  references  to  Judah  do  not  invalidate  the  evidence  of  a  northern  origin.  For  it  was 
impossible  that  a  prophet  of  Jehovah,  were  he  ever  so  much  a  citizen  of  the  kingdom  of 
Israel,  should  lose  sight  of  Judah  ;  for  Judah  was  the  kingdom  of  David,  and  it  was  to  it 
alone  that  those  promises  related,  which  formed  the  sure  ground  of  the  Messianic  hope,  that 
the  Lord  would  not  cast  off  his  people  utterly  and  forever,  but  that  a  time  was  coming  when 
they  should  rise  gloriously  from  out  of  their  desolation.  The  prophet  could  call  attention 
all  the  more  impressively  to  the  strictness  of  the  divine  righteousness  as  displayed  towards 
Judah ;  for  even  that  nation  was  not  to  be  spared,  but  was  to  be  punished  for  its  apostasy , 
how  much  less,  then,  should  the  kingdom  of  Israel  fancy  itself  secure  in  its  gross  unfaithful- 
ness to  God  !     Finally,  if  the  superscription,  in  the   first  line   of  which  the  period  of  the 

1  [Compare,  besides  the  articles  on  Hosea  in  the  Bible  Dictionaries,  an  ingenious  and  suggestive  Life  of  the  Prophet 
Hosea,  by  Prof.  Green,  of  Princeton,  in  Our  Monthly,  Cincinnati,  January  and  February,  1871.  It  is  constructed  mainly 
from  hints  scattered  through  the  book  itself.  Dean  Stanley  gives  an  eloquent  sketch  of  the  Prophet  in  his  Lectures  on 
tke  History  of  the  Jewish  Church,  ii.  409  f.  —  M.] 

S  [In  Engl.  Vers,  written  Hoshea,  to  distinguish  him  from  the  Prophet.  Comp.  Zachariah  and  Zechariah,  alsc  ideatt- 
mX  in  the  Hebrew     -  M.l 


4  HO  SEA. 

Prophet's  ministry  is  defined  according  to  the  succession  of  Kings  of  Judah,  should  he 
adduced  as  proof  that  Hosea  did  not  belong  to  the  Northern  Kingdom,  it  might  be  shown 
that  this  proves  nothing,  since  it  is  not  certain  that  the  superscription  proceeded  from  the 
Prophet  himself.  It  may  have  been  prefixed  to  his  -writings  in  the  kingdom  of  Judah  some 
time  after  their  composition,  and  this  mode  of  indicating  his  era  would  then  have  been  quite 
natural.1 

With  regard  to  the  circumstances  of  Hosea's  life  we  know  absolutely  nothing.  What 
tradition  has  to  say  upon  this  subject  is  utterly  devoid  of  support  and  quite  worthless. 

With  regard,  however,  to  the  character  and  disposition  of  the  Prophet  and  his  inner  life 
generally,  much  could  be  gathered  from  his  book.  But  this  is  to  be  gained  more  fully  from 
what  is  unfolded  in  the  book  itself,  and  we  shall  therefore  postpone  our  inquiry  until  we 
come  to  examine  the  subject  as  presented  there. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  where  the  scene  of  the  Prophet's  labors  lay.  It  was  the 
more  northerly  of  the  two  divided  kingdoms,  the  Kingdom  of  Israel.  The  prophecies  which 
he  has  left  to  us  in  his  book  are  almost  exclusively  occupied  with  that  kingdom,  the  events, 
religious,  moral,  and  political  which  had  transpired  there,  and  the  destiny  which  was  await- 
ing it.  Judah  is,  indeed,  not  unfrequently  mentioned,  partly  in  contrast  to  Israel  (Ephraim), 
partly  as  being  guilty  of  the  same  transgressions.  In  the  latter  relation  it  is  named  with 
greatest  frequency  in  chaps,  v.  and  vi.,  but  afterwards  only  in  isolated  passages  :  viii.  14  ; 
x.  11  ;  xii.  1.  But  Judah  is  always  referred  to  incidentally,  and  in  such  a  way  that  no 
doubt  is  left  upon  the  mind,  that  the  Prophet,  though  giving  to  Judah  a  prominent  place, 
did  not  regard  it  as  the  sphere  of  his  mission.  The  supposition  that  later,  at  least,  he 
betook  himself  to  the  kingdom  of  Judah  and  there  composed  his  book  (Ewald),  cannot  be 
established. 

If  we  seek  for  the  period  in  which  the  Prophet  lived  and  labored,  we  meet  at  ©nee  with  a 
definite  statement  in  the  superscription  (ver.  1),  which  defines  this  period  as  "  the  time  of 
Uzziah,  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judah,  and  Jeroboam,  son  of  Joash,  king  of 
Israel."  This  would  assign  to  the  active  ministry  of  the  Prophet  a  very  long  duration. 
"  For  between  the  death  of  Uzziah  and  the  first  year  of  Hezekiah  there  intervened  thirty- 
two  years.  But  the  Israelitish  king,  Jeroboam  II.  died,  at  the  least  calculation,  a  considerable 
period  before  Uzziah.  The  interval  was  probably  twenty-six  years,  although  the  discordant 
statements  of  the  books  of  the  Kings  with  regard  to  the  relation  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  and 
Israel  prevent  us  from  assigning  with  certainty  the  precise  period.  Thus,  according  to  the 
superscription,  the  ministry  of  Hosea  must  have  begun  long  before  Uzziah's  death,  and  if 
we  place  it  only  a  short  time  before  the  death  of  Jeroboam  II.,  it  must,  since  it  reached  to 
the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  have  been  of  very  long  duration,  about  sixty  years." 
(According  to  the  ordinary  reckoning  Jeroboam  died  B.  c.  783,  and  Hezekiah  ascended  the 
throne  in  727.)  This  result  is  calculated  to  excite  doubts  of  the  correctness  of  the  super- 
scription. We  therefore  seek  grounds  of  support  in  the  book  itself.  It  appears  to  be  quite 
certain  from  it  that  Hosea  appeared  before  the  fall  of  the  dynasty  of  Jehu,  which  affords  us 
the  terminus  a  quo.  For  it  is  with  the  announcement  of  the  destruction  of  this  house  that 
his  book  opens.  "  But  it  was  only,"  remarks  Ewald  rightly,  "  the  idolatry  promoted  by  the 
house  of  Jehu,  that  was  denounced  ;  the  people  were  still,  to  all  appearance,  great  and 
powerful."  More  especially,  there  is  as  yet  no  allusion  whatever  to  internal  commotions,  or 
to  the  subversion  of  the  order  of  things  in  the  state.  We  can  hardly  refer  his  first  appear- 
ance to  the  period  succeeding  the  death  of  Jeroboam  H,  during  which  the  kingdom  was 
probably  in  a  state  of  anarchy  for  from  eleven  to  twelve  years.  And  if  the  supposition  of 
such  an  interregnum  should  be  pronounced  untenable,  we  have  still  less  room  for  Hosea's 
appearance  after  Jeroboam's  death ;  for  with  his  son  Zachariah  the  house  of  Jehu  lost  the 
throne,  thus  bringing  about  the  event  threatened  by  the  Prophet,  Zachariah  having  retained 
possession  only  half  a  year.  The  dynasty  of  Jehu  then  actually  appeared  to  be  firmly 
established,  but  was  undoubtedly  being  undermined  internally  even  in  the  time  of  Jeroboam. 
To  this  period,  therefore,  concerning  which  we  have  a  brief  notice  in  2  Kings  xiv.  23-29, 
and  which  is  there  expressly  spoken  of  as  a  time  in  which  Jehovah  gave  help  through  Jero- 
boam, for  "  He  had  not  yet  declared  that  He  would  blot  out  the  name  of  Israel  from  under 
heaven,"  to  this  period  towards  its  conclusion,  we  can  assign,  with  almost  perfect  confidence, 
the  terminus  a  quo  of  Hosea's  ministry.     It  is  a  matter  of  greater  difficulty  to  fix  the  termi- 

1  [Eor  the  further  discussion  of  this  question,  and  the  reasons  "»r  doubting  the  correctness  of  the  conclusion  arriYa* 
at  above,  see  the  superscription  as  expounded  in  its  place.  —  M 


INTRODUCTION. 


nv-s  ad  quern.  We  are  certain,  at  the  outset,  only  of  this  much,  that  Hosea  labored  and 
wrote  before  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah ;  for  it  was  in  that  year  that  the  event 
transpired  which  he  had  so  plainly  announced,  the  destruction  of  the  Kingdom  of  Israel,  by 
the  Assyrians.  But  how  closely  are  we  justified  in  approaching  this  limit  ?  That  Hosea 
lived  during  the  gloomy  period  of  the  disorders  occasioned  by  the  usurpations  under  Zacha- 
riah,  Shallum,  and  Menahem,  described  briefly  in  2  Kings  xv.  8-20,  is  a  well  established 
fact,  for  these  events  are  most  vividly  mirrored  in  his  discourses  (see  especially  chap.  vii.). 
But  the  Assyrians  stand  in  the  foreground  with  special  prominence,  as  the  power  in  which 
help  was  sought,  and  to  which  "  gifts  "  were  sent  in  time  of  distress,  —  foolishly,  for  it  was 
in  these  actions  that  the  Prophet  discerned  so  clearly  the  sure  way  to  destruction  through 
Assyria.  We  must  therefore  descend  at  least  to  the  reign  of  Menahem ;  for  it  was  then 
that  Assyria  under  Pul,  first  came  in  contact  with  Israel,  Menahem  paying  him  tribute 
and  thus  purchasing  from  Assyria  assistance  in  his  efforts  to  maintain  his  kingdom.1 

Ewald  does  not  feel  himself  at  liberty  to  seek  any  later  period,  and  therefore  does  not  go 
down  as  far  as  the  reign  of  Pekah,  thus  excluding  the  period  of  King  Uzziah  in  Judah. 
For  it  was  under  Pekah  that  Tiglath-Pileser,  summoned  by  Ahaz  to  assist  him  against 
Pekah,  who  had  formed  an  alliance  with  Rezin,  king  of  Syria  (2  Kings  xvi.  5-9),  wrested 
from  the  kingdom  of  Israel  the  northern  and  eastern  portions  of  the  country,  more  particu- 
larly Galilee  and  Gilead  (2  Kings  xv.  29).  Yet  of  these  important  transactions  the  Prophet 
appears  to  know  nothing  historically,  Gilead  and  Tabor,  in  his  view,  comprising  between 
them  the  whole  of  the  kingdom,  and  Gilead,  so  often  mentioned,  appearing  throughout  as 
an  unconquered  territory.  But  these  grouuds  are  not  unassailable.  In  the  first  place  we 
do  not  even  know  to  what  extent  the  conquest  was  carried.  It  may  have  been  only  a 
plundering  expedition.  It  is  certain  that  these  districts  stood  only  in  the  relation  of  tribu- 
taries to  Assyria.  But,  especially,  we  do  not  know  how  long  this  state  of  subjection  lasted. 
May  we  not  be  allowed  to  assume,  in  the  absence  of  other  information,  that  the  later  ex- 
pedition of  Shalmaneser  against  Hoshea  (2  Kings  xvii.  3)  was  occasioned  by  the  circum- 
stance that  Hoshea  had  regained  possession  of  the  territory  formerly  subdued  by  Tiglath- 
Pileser  ?  In  that  case,  however,  we  must-  take  into  consideration  the  interval  between  the 
utterance  of  the  discourses  and  the  composition  of  the  book.  "  In  them,  therefore,  allusions 
might  well  be  found  to  events  and  circumstances  which  at  the  time  when  the  book  was  com- 
posed, belonged  to  the  past"  (Hengstenberg).  Thus  for  example,  Hosea  might  have  sur- 
vived the  first  Assyrian  invasion  under  Tiglath-pileser,  even  though,  in  his  discourses,  Gilead 
appears  to  be  still  a  component  part  of  the  kingdom,  which  in  other  passages,  e.  g.,  chap, 
xii.  12  (11),  it  is  not  necessary  to  assume.  For  a  tributary  relation  to  Assyria  and  utter 
destruction  are  things  entirely  different.  Scarcely  anything  then  stands  in  the  way  of  the 
attempt  to  bring  the  terminus  ad  quern  down  to  the  days  of  Pekah  and  Hoshea.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  many  things  which  seem  to  demand  such  an  attempt.  The  whole 
position  which  Assyria  assumes  with  Hosea  seems  to  show  that  what  he  spoke  and  wrote 
did  not  fall  on  the  first  contact  with  Assyria  under  Menahem,  which  had  a  comparatively 
favorable  issue,  but  that  Assyria  had  already  displayed  her  power,  so  fraught  with  danger 
to  Israel  and  causing  such  destruction,  as  was  done  by  Tiglath-pileser  in  the  reign  of  Pekah. 
And  many  indications  seem  to  point  directly  to  the  reign  of  the  last  king  Hoshea  ;  one  in- 
stance is  the  denunciation  of  the  double  relation,  into  which  Israel  entered  simultaneously 
with  Assyria  and  Egypt  (chap.  vii.  11;  xii.  2).  Ewald  would  refer  this  to  two  political 
parties.  But  nothing  is  known  of  any  connection  with  Egypt  under  Menahem  at  least ; 
and  even  though  chap.  vii.  11  could  be  interpreted  in  this  interest,  the  expression  employed 
in  xii.  1  indicates  so  clearly  an  alliance  and  an  offering  of  gifts,  that  we  are  only  justified 
in  supposing  that  transaction  to  be  referred  to,  of  which  we  have  certain  information, 
namely,  the  double  game  which,  according  to  2  Kings  xvii.  3,  4,  Hoshea  played  with  Assyria 
and  Egypt.     We  may  obtain  still  clearer  testimony  to  the  correctness  of  this  view,  if,  in 

1  [This  was  the  first  occasion  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  and  also,  probably,  the  turning-point  in  the  history  ol 
Israel's  relations  with  Assyria,  which  terminated  so  disastrously  to  the  former.  If  we  may  trust,  however,  the  transla- 
tion of  the  inscription  upon  the  black  obelisk  brought  by  Layard  from  Nimrud,  which  was  erected  t  r  Shalmaneser  I. 
we  are  pointed  to  the  reign  of  Jehu  as  the  period  of  the  first  contact.  It  is  stated  there  that  Benb.ad.id  n.  and  Hazaei 
(enemies  of  Israel)  were  among  the  conquered  foes  of  the  great  Assyrian,  and  that  Yahua  (Jehu),  the  son  of  Khuniri 
(Omri,  who  must  therefore  have  been  considered  the  founder  of  the  Kingdom  of  Samaria)  paid  tribute  to  him.  In  this 
translation  all  authorities  concur.  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  infers  also  from  2  Kings  xv.  19,  that  Menahem  "had  neglected 
to  apply  for  the  usual  confirmation  of  his  kingdom,"  and  that  this  was  the  cause  of  Pul's  invasion.  He  draws  a  like 
Inference  with  regard  to  Amaziah  of  Judah  from  2  Kings  xiv.  5.  If  these  opinions  are  correct,  it  would  appear  that 
the  counting  were  brought  into  irequent  contact  before  the  first  occasion  alluded  to  in  the  Old  Testament.  — M.J 


6  HOSEA. 

chap.  x.  14  Shalman  be  understood  directly  to  stand  for  Shalmaneser  so  that  the  first  ex« 
pedition  of  Shalmaneser,  mentioned  in  2  Kings  xvii.  3,  would  be  referred  to  as  having  already 
been  made,  and  as  a  new  invasion  is  here  threatened,  the  last  expedition  of  that  king  which 
brought  ruin  upon  the  kingdom  would  be  regarded  as  impending.  But  the  passage  is  ob- 
scure, and  the  conclusion  which  must  be  adopted  is  that  the  terminus  ad  quern  can  be  only 
approximately  ascertained.  But,  at  all  events,  no  direct  testimony  can  be  adduced  against 
the  correctness  of  the  designation  of  time  made  in  the  superscription,  which  extends  the  min- 
istry of  the  Prophet  to  the  reign  of  Hezekiah. 

Accordingly  Hosea  was,  most  probably,  an  older  contemporary  of  Isaiah,  whose  ministry 
began  in  the  long  reign  of  King  Uzziah  in  Judah,  though  much  later  than  that  of  Hosea, 
and  extended  to  a  period  much  later.  He  would  also  be  contemporary  with  Micah,  if  he 
actually  lived  until  the  beginning  of  Uzziah's  reign.  On  the  other  side  he  comes  in  con- 
tact with  Amos ;  for  the  latter  prophet  lived  in  the  contemporary  reigns  of  Uzziah  and  Jero- 
boam n. ;  and  if  it  was  the  case  that  Hosea  did  not  appear  until  after  the  death  of  Amos, 
he  must  have  been  closely  connected  with  him,  not  merely  in  time,  but  also  in  their  common 
vocation.  For  it  was  the  mission  of  Amos  also,  though  belonging  to  the  tribe  of  Judah,  to 
proclaim  the  divine  judgments  upon  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  Hosea,  therefore,  takes  up  the 
thread  where  Amos  had  let  it  drop  and  keeps  spinning  it  out  until  the  destruction  of  the 
kingdom.  He  also  manifestly  makes  reference  to  Amos,  comp.  Hos.  viii.  14  with  Amos  ii.  5 
(i.  4-7,  10,  12  ;  ii.  6)  ;  Hos.  ix.  3  with  Am.  vii.  17  ;  Hos.  xii.  8  with  Am.  viii.  5  ;  Hos.  xii, 
10  f.  with  Am.  ii.  10  ff.  While  Amos  is  probably  cognizant  of  the  power,  Assyria,  by 
which  God  was  to  execute  his  judgments  upon  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  but  does  not  name  or 
even  allude  to  it,  in  Hosea  it  is  named  plainly  and  very  frequently,  and  he  must  denounce 
any  association  of  Israel  with  this  World-Power,  which  had  approached  already  so  near. 
Hosea  falls,  in  any  case,  in  the  last  of  the  three  periods  of  the  history  of  this  kingdom.  The 
times  in  which  ho  lived,  as  defined  above,  form  a  twofold  period,  or  two  periods,  outwardly 
at  least,  very  diverse.  One  was  the  period  of  the  vigorous  rule  of  Jeroboam  H.  who  raised 
the  kingdom  to  an  unprecedented  position  of  eminence  and  power,  although  internal  condi- 
tions of  decay  were  abundantly  present,  which  the  Prophet  was  commissioned  to  prove.  The 
other  was  the  period  of  the  visible  decline  and  decay  of  the  kingdom  after  the  fall  of  the 
house  of  Jehu  and  under  the  succeeding  kings,  induced  inwardly  by  a  religious  and  moral 
ruin,  and  not  deferred,  but  only  hastened,  by  an  untheocratic  policy,  which  sought  support 
among  foreign  powers,  and  delivered  the  nation  into  the  hands  of  the  Assyrians.  The  in- 
formation given  in  the  historical  books  concerning  this  whole  period  must  have  its  due  place 
in  the  study  of  the  Prophet.  Comp.  2  Kings  xiv.  23-29  ;  xv.  8-31  ;  xvii.  1-6,  and,  as  sup- 
plementary to  it,  the  pragmatical  treatment  of  the  subject,  assigning  the  causes  of  the  de- 
struction of  the  kingdom,  2  Kings  xvii.  7-23.  The  truest  picture  of  the  whole  period  is 
presented  by  the  Prophet  himself  in  his  whole  book,  to  the  examination  of  which  we  accord- 
ingly pass. 

§  2.    The  Book  of  the  Prophet. 

"We  have  in  the  Canon  under  the  name  of  Hosea  one  book  in  fourteen  chapters. 

With  regard  to  its  contents.  We  have  seen  above  that  it  is  mainly  occupied  with  the 
more  northerly  of  the  two  kingdoms,  although  the  kingdom  of  Judah  is  not  therefore  kept 
out  of  sight,  being  alluded  to  repeatedly,  especially  in  chaps,  v.  and  vi.,  in  conjunction  with 
Israel.  What  then  has  it  to  say  with  reference  to  that  kingdom  ?  A  single  glance  into 
our  book  is  sufficient  to  inform  us.  It  is  chiefly  occupied  with  a  most  severe  testimony 
against  the  national  apostasy  from  Jehovah,  and  the  deep  and  prevailing  moral  and  civil 
corruption  which  appears  throughout  as  the  fruit  of  that  apostasy,  and  in  immediate  connec 
tion  therewith,  an  announcement  of  divine  judgments,  which  increases  in  severity  until  the 
utter  destruction  of  the  kingdom  itself  is  foretold.  But  this  does  not  exhaust  the  purport 
of  the  book  ;  for,  like  the  other  prophetic  writings,  it  contains  too  an  abundant  storehouse  of 
promise.  By  the  side  of  the  severe  threatenings,  though  these  occupy  by  far  the  larger 
space  in  the  book,  there  are  found  words  of  promise  most  richly  unfolded,  not  merely  as  a 
hope  of  future  conversion  and  thus  of  the  return  of  better  days,  but  as  a  definite  announce- 
ment  that  the  time  was  coining  when  the  people,  purified  by  chastisement  and  returning  it 
grief  and  penitence  to  their  God,  should  again  find  acceptance  with  Him,  and  that  thereby 
their  kingdom  should  be  restored,  not  in  its  then  abnormal  and  divided  condition,  but  as  one 
united  body,  under  a  King  of  the  line  of  David. 


INTRODUCTION. 


But  this  view  only  presents  the  meaning  of  the  book  externally,  and  exhibits  only  the 
germs  of  that  which  it  was  the  special   province  of  the  prophetic  writings  chiefly  to  unfold. 

It  is  just  with  our  Prophet  that  this  exhibition  cannot  satisfy.  He  presents  these  general 
truths  in  a  form  peculiar  to  himself;  he  would  at  least,  beside  the  one,  the  threatening 
place  the  other,  the  promise,  but  he  labors  to  regard  from  a  single  point  of  view  the  posi 
tion  which  Jehovah  bears  to  Israel  and  so  specially  to  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes,  and 
from  this  to  explain  both  the  threatening  and  the  promise ;  to  view  them,  namely,  in  the 
light  of  Jehovah's  love  to  Israel  as  his  people. 

In  this  love  of  God  (and  not  simply  in  his  righteousness)  are  rooted,  according  to  Hosea, 
even  the  threatening  and  announcement  of  punishment,  with  which  he  is  chiefly  occupied. 
For  it  was  because  Jehovah's  love  embraced  his  people  from  the  beginning  that  He  could 
not  suffer  any  apostasy  from  him,  but  must  become  angry  at  it,  must  chastise  it,  must  even 
slay  and  destroy  it  utterly,  that  is,  in  its  corporate  existence.  All  threatening  and  chastise- 
ment is  really  the  indignation  and  zeal  of  love,1  born  of  sorrow  and  therefore  all  the  more 
intense.  Hence  the  announcement  of  punishment  sounds  forth  in  tones  of  terrific  severity. 
But  they  also  have  their  end  in  themselves.  Love  is  indeed  angry  and  most  deeply  so,  but 
it  is  and  remains  nothing  but  love,  for  it  is  pained  that  it  must  be  angry,  and  with  all  its 
wrath  it  can  only  aim  to  remove  that  which  interrupts  and  prevents  the  display  of  itself  to 
the  object  beloved,  and  must  ever  aim  to  secure  salvation,  reconciliation,  and  restoration, 
else  it  would  itself  stand  in  the  way  of  realizing  its  object,  and  would  thus  contribute  most 
surely  to  its  own  failure.  From  this  stand-point,  promise  is  seen  to  be  as  necessary  as 
threatening,  and  in  proportion  to  the  severity  of  the  latter  must  be  the  richness  of  the 
former,  as  flowing  from  the  love  of  God,  and  not  simply  from  a  certain  compassion  coexist- 
ing with  his  punitive  righteousness,  or  from  his  faithfulness,  by  which  the  covenant  is  main- 
tained, as  though  his  truthfulness  alone  were  to  be  kept  unimpeachable.  If,  therefore,  we 
do  not  wish  to  rest  content  with  a  superficial  view  of  the  book,  we  must  regard  its  meaning 
from  this  stand-point  as  expressed  in  the  following  estimate  :  "  The  prophetic  exhibition  of 
the  love  of  God,  wounded  sorely  and  in  numberless  ways  by  Israel's  guilt,  and  therefore  neces- 
sarily a  chastening  love,  though  ever  remaining  unchanged  in  its  inner  nature,  which  being 
so  deeply  grounded  would  not  destroy,  but  heal  and  recall  to  itself."  Such  are  the  words 
of  Ewald,  who  has  so  correctly  perceived  and  so ,  beautifully  expressed  the  fundamental 
thought  of  our  book,  but  who  views  it  too  subjectively,  too  much  as  the  mere  outflow  of  the 
author's  own  personal  feelings,  instead  of  something  flowing  from  a  deep  insight  into  the 
nature  of  God  himself.  Yet  he  makes  these  admirable  observations :  "  To  this  prophet  the 
love  of  Jehovah  is  the  deepest  ground  of  his  relation  to  Israel ;  that  love  was  always  active 
in  forming  the  Church ;  it  was  injured  and  disturbed  by  Israel ;  it  chastens  now  in  deep 
pain,  but  can  never  deny  itself  or  be  extinguished  ;  it  would  still  deliver  and  will  at  length 
save  all.  All  this  is  exhibited  with  the  most  glowing  sympathy,  and  in  a  great  variety  of 
ways.  But  no  image  is  here  more  expressive  than  that  of  marriage.  As  the  wife  is  united  to 
her  husband  by  indissoluble  and  sacred  bonds,  and  the  faithful  husband  justly  feels  angry  at 
the  unfaithful  wife,  punishes  her  or  even  casts  her  off  for  a  time,  but  never  can  really  cease 
to  love  her,  so  has  the  ancient  Church,  the  mother  of  the  churches  now  living,  borne  children, 
during  her  unfaithfulness  to  Jehovah,  who  resist  Him  unworthily,  and  yet  the  love  of  Jeho- 
vah never  departs  from  them,  although  he  is  angry  and  punishes  them." 

This  last  sentence  may  indicate  also  why  we  regard  this  relation  of  love  between  Jehovah 
and  Israel  not  merely  as  the  doctrinal  background  of  the  contents  of  our  book,  but  an  ex- 
pression of  those  contents  themselves.  For  Hosea,  from  the  very  opening,  presents  ex- 
pressly this  relation  of  Jehovah  and  Israel  under  this  figure  of  the  husband,  who  just  be- 
cause he  is  united  to  his  wife  by  the  bond  of  love,  must  as  surely  be  indignant  with  her  and 
punish  her,  as  he  must  also  be  unable  to  let  her  go,  but  must  hold  out  to  her  the  prospect  of 
a  cordial  reinstatement  in  her  former  relations. 

The  figure  becomes  indeed  less  prominent  as  the  book  advances,  but  ippears  through  the 
whole  sometimes  more  obscurely,  sometimes  more  clearly,  and  even  emerges  again  into  the 
foreground  in  several  passages.  The  conception  of  Israel's  conduct  is  based  upon  this  image, 
partly  as  it  is  designated  infidelity,  whoredom,  which  applies  not  merely  to  idolatry  itself, 
but  sets  forth  the  principle  that  underlies  the  false,  untheocratic  policy  of  the  kingdom  of 
the  Ten  Tribes  in  its  alliances  with  the  world-powers ;  and  partly  and  still  more  as  every- 
thing that  is  said  of  Jehovah's  conduct  towards  Israel,  of  warning,  of  threatening,  of  pun- 

1  fComp.  Delitzsch,   Cnrnm.  on  Job,  Introduction.  —  M.] 


8  HOSEA. 

.shing,  of  promising,  is  rooted  wholly  in  this  fundamental  idea  of  Jehovah's  love  to  Israel  a» 
his  spouse  drawn  from  the  analogy  of  wedded  love,  — excejt  that  this  image  of  wedded  love 
is  interchanged  with  the  figure  of  paternal  love,  equally  strong  in  another  direction,  as 
especially  in  chap.  xi.  in  accordance  with  the  fact  that  the  subject  of  that  chapter  is  Jeho- 
vah's conduct  towards  Israel  in  his  childhood.  This  latter  relation  is  thus  placed  parallel  to 
a  relation  of  personal  love  based  upon  a  moral  course  of  life.  This  view  explains  why  our 
book,  in  a  way  so  peculiar  to  itself,  refers  so  much  to  Israel's  earlier  history.  For  it  is  nat- 
ural that  love  should  remind  the  one  beloved,  who  had  become  unfaithful  and  refused  to 
reciprocate  affection,  of  the  beginning  of  their  attachment ;  that  the  husband  should  recall  to 
the  wife,  when  such  a  rupture  of  the  marriage  tie  has  taken  place,  the  first  love  with  which 
he  met  the  bride  (as  the  father  also  reminds  the  backsliding  son  of  the  love  displayed  to- 
ward him  in  childhood).  On  the  other  hand  when  the  course  of  infidelity  is  complete,  he 
is  led  to  remember  the  beginnings  and  foretokens  of  such  behavior  in  earlier  days,  and  he 
explains  the  present  in  the  light  of  the  past,  justifies  his  anger  and  chastening  in  the  present 
and  his  bitter  complaints  over  the  unfaithfulness  of  his  wife,  by  adducing  the  complaints 
made  and  the  punishments  which  had  to  be  inflicted  in  former  times.  If  the  recollection 
of  the  past  thus  intensifies  the  bitterness  of  injured  love,  it  is  equally  potent,  on  the  other 
bide,  in  preventing  the  extinction  of  love  ;  for  to  the  wounded  and  deeply  injured  one  it  again 
presents  the  attachment  in  its  whole  extent,  and  forces  the  thought  upon  him  irresistibly  and 
imperceptibly :  "  This  is  the  one  upon  whom  thou  hast  bestowed  thy  love,  with  whom  thou 
hast  been  and  art  united  in  love,  and  whom,  therefore,  thou  canst  not  let  go  from  thee  ut- 
terly and  forever." 

If  we  now  consider  the  contents  of  the  particular  divisions  of  the  book,  we  find  this  much 
to  be  clear  at  the  outset ;  first,  that  chaps,  i.  and  ii.,  and  next  that  chaps,  iv.-xiv.  are  closely 
connected.  With  regard  to  the  first  and  smaller  division,  chaps,  i.  and  ii.,  the  fact  is  more 
incontestable  than  with  regard  to  the  second  and  longer  one,  which,  in  any  case  demands 
itself  a  subordinate  division.  The  question  is  now,  how  we  are  to  reckon  chap.  iii.  It  has 
been  attached  by  some  to  chaps,  iv.-xiv.  as  their  introduction.  But  the  correct  view  will 
be  found  to  be  given  in  the  words  of  Havernick,  that  "  the  symbolical  method  of  represen- 
tation unites  the  first  three  chapters  into  one  whole."  And  if  we  are  reminded  of  the  some- 
what abrupt  introduction  of  chap,  iii.,  we  must  observe  that  an  explanation  of  the  symbol 
is  given  in  vers.  4,  5,  —  an  explanation  in  plain  words,  in  fact  the  first  one  which  occurs, 
of  the  discourse  in  chap,  ii.,  which  from  ver.  4  onwards  is  figurative  throughout,  represent- 
ing Israel  as  an  adulterous  wife,  so  that  we  here  arrive  at  a  conclusion  which  clearly  ex- 
presses the  sense  of  what  precedes. 

It  will  more  clearly  appear  that  the  view  which  regards  chap.  iii.  as  belonging  with  chaps, 
i.  and  ii.  is  the  correct  one,  if  we  remember  that  the  contents  of  chap.  i.  (and  therefore  also 
of  chap,  ii.)  certainly  fall  in  an  earlier  period  than  the  discourse  in  chaps,  iv.-xiv.  (as  chaps, 
i.-ii.  relate  expressly  to  the  "beginning  of  the  word  of  Jehovah  to  Hosea  "),  namely,  in  the 
period  preceding  the  fall  of  the  house  of  Jehu  (chap.  i.  4),  while  chaps,  iv.-xiv.  belong  to 
the  second  period  defined  above,  after  its  fall ;  for  it  is  in  that  portion  that  Assyria  first  ap- 
pears, which  is  decisive.  If  now  the  symbolical  narrative  in  chap.  i.  must  have  appeared 
earlier  than  chaps,  iv.-xiv..  it  is  only  proper  to  suppose  that  chap,  iii.,  so  analogous  to  it, 
falls  in  the  same  period,  that  we  have  here  generally  fragments  drawn  from  the  earlier  part 
of  the  Prophet's  ministry,  and  that  therefore  chaps,  i.-iii.  form  a  connected  whole.  It  is  thus 
natural  to  assume  that  the  symbolical  mode  of  presentation,  in  general,  characterizes  the 
earlier  period  of  the  Prophet's  labors. 

We  thus  assume  two  main  divisions  :  chaps,  i.-iii.  and  chaps,  iv.-xiv.,  and  in  favor  of  such 
partition  have  not  only  internal  grounds  but  also  an  external  argument,  namely,  that  each 
part  is  the  product  of  a  distinct  period.  The  one  of  earlier  origin  is,  however,  compara- 
tively small,  and  the  opinion  is  plausible  that  the  Prophet,  in  committing  the  whole  to  writ- 
ing, prefixed  the  former  part  as  a  kind  of  introduction  to  the  greater  prophetic  discourse 
which  constituted  the  main  division,  like  a  vestibule  inviting  an  entrance.  The  contents, 
also,  are  appropriate  to  this  purpose  with  their  symbolical  actions  and  figurative  discourses. 
It  has  something  en'gmatic,  surprising,  straining  the  attention,  and  so  preparing  the  way 
for  reaching  and  hearing  what  is  expressed  in  a  simple,  literal  form. 

The  first  introductory  portion  (chaps,  i.-iii.)  which  contains  "  the  beginning  "  of  the  divine 
revelation  to  Hosea,  describes  the  (spiritual)  adultery  of  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes  in  its 
apostasy  from  Jehovah  to  idolatry,  and  the  conduct  of  Jehovah  towards  this  unfaithful  spouse. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  most  severe  punishment  even  to  rejection  is  threatened  against  it,  but,  as  the  end  and 
aim  of  such  punishment,  new  and  higher  blessedness  is  held  out  in  prospect. 

This  is  set  forth  in  three  sections,  each  of  which  contains  both  threatening  and  promise, 
with  the  aim  of  showing  clearly  how  little  these  are  to  be  separated,  how,  rather,  both  have 
a  common  source  in  the  love  which  Jehovah  has  to  Israel,  since  He  stands  united  with  it  "n 
(spiritual)  marriage. 

1.  Chap.  i.  2 — ii.  3.  The  Prophet  must  symbolically,  by  a  marriage  with  a  wife  of 
whoredom,  hold  up  to  Israel  its  sin,  and,  by  the  names  of  the  children  born  of  this  marriage, 
announce  its  rejection  (i.  2-9).  Yet  its  future  acceptance  and  reunion  are  immediately  pic- 
tured with  a  few  outlines  (ii.  1-3). 

2.  In  copious,  extraordinarily  vivid,  and,  especially  in  the  latter  portion,  most  sublime  lan- 
guage, Jehovah  unbosoms  Himself  to  his  unfaithful  spouse,  Israel.  He  utters  a  severe  accu- 
sation against  her,  and  proclaims  that  she  shall  be  punished  by  falling  into  a  condition  of 
extreme  want,  that  she  shall  be  laid  waste  (vers.  4-15).  But  with  this  new  "leading  into 
the  desert"  a  change  occurs  ;  Jehovah  concludes  a  new  alliance,  rich  in  blessiig,  with  the 
spouse  returning  in  penitence  to  Him  (vers.  16-25). 

3.  Chap.  iii.  The  Prophet  must  again  show  symbolically  by  his  conduct  towards  the  wife 
of  whoredom,  whom  he  was  commanded  to  marry,  that  God  still  loves  his  adulterous  wife, 
Israel,  and  would  only  in  his  love  humble  her,  that  she  might  return  to  Him. 

The  second  division,  the  main  portion  of  the  book  (chaps,  iv.-xiv),  the  product  of  a 
later  period,  as  we  saw  above,  is  in  form  distinguished  from  the  earlier  part  by  the  entire 
absence  of  symbolical  acts,  the  discourse  being  literal  throughout.  The  purport  is,  how- 
ever, similar  in  its  essential  features,  inasmuch  as  here  also  punishment  and  even  destruction 
(on  account  of  its  apostasy)  are  announced  to  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  But  at  the  same  time 
also  it  is  predicted  that  it  shall  be  received  back  on  the  ground  of  its  expected  conversion ; 
indeed  a  time  of  richest  blessing  is  at  last  held  out  to  it  in  prospect.  Jehovah  appears  here 
also  as  one  who  loves  Israel,  and  must  therefore  punish  it  for  infidelity,  though  as  unable  to 
give  it  up,  and  as  being  forced  to  be  again  merciful  and  to  bless  according  to  the  law  of 
love.  The  object  is  accordingly  essentially  the  same ;  this  inability  to  give  up  Israel,  this 
ultimate  favor  and  blessing  form  here  also  the  picture  of  the  future.  But  it  costs  labor,  as 
it  were,  to  realize  this  aim  ;  the  threatening  is  so  severe.  This  constitutes  by  far  the  largest 
portion  of  the  whole,  and  only  after  it  has  disclosed  its  full  severity,  does  promise  break 
through,  when  Jehovah  seems  as  it  were  to  call  to  mind  his  former  love  for  his  people,  thus 
showing  that  from  the  beginning  love  did  not  fail,  but  that  even  his  accusings  and  threaten- 
ings  arose  from  deeply  wounded  love.  This  suggests  already  that  the  ground  upon  which 
the  prophecy  proceeds,  is  changed.  Idolatry,  as  unfaithfulness  to  Jehovah  is,  it  is  true,  al- 
ways the  fundamental  offense  on  account  of  which  judgment  is  declared,  but  to  this  is  added 
not  only  moral  pollution,  but  also  dissolution  of  the  state,  and  especially  the  pursuance  of  a 
false  policy  altogether  opposed  to  the  character  of  a  people  of  God,  which  sought  help  in 
external  aid  against  the  distresses  which  invaded  them,  partly  in  Assyria  and  partly  in 
Egypt.  It  is  the  unfaithfulness  of  Ephraim  towards  Jehovah,  mainly  in  this  form  of  a 
political  attitude  entirely  untheocratical,  against  which  the  prophet  appears,  and  on  account 
of  which  he  announces  judgment,  the  punishment  threatened  being  destruction  by  those 
very  world-powers,  Egypt,  and  especially  Assyria. 

This  second  main  division,  of  such  large  extent,  calls  itself  for  a  division.  But  this  is  a 
matter  of  great  difficulty.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  the  attempt  to  assign  the  several 
chapters  to  different  periods  of  time,  and  thus  to  view  the  succession  of  the  chapters  as  de- 
termined by  the  order  of  their  composition  (Maurer  and  Hitzig  among  others),  must  be 
unsuccessful,  even  if  it  be  conceded  that  these  chapters  did  proceed  originally  from  different 
occasions.  It  is  remarkable,  for  example,  that  in  chaps,  iv.,  v.,  vi.,  Judah  is  mentioned  fre- 
quently along  with  Ephraim,  while  afterwards  it  retreats  more  into  the  background,  so  that 
it  is  natural  to  infer  different  situations  as  their  occasions.  But  as  the  whole  lies  before  us 
at  present,  there  is  a  certain  unity  apparent,  though  it  is  difficult  to  follow  d  tfinitely  the 
course  of  thought.  We  must  abandon  the  supposition  of  a  strictly  logical  arrangement  of 
the  parts  in  view  of  the  nature  of  the  language,  marked,  as  it  is,  by  excitement  and  con- 
itantly  surprising  abruptness.  Different  expositors  adopt  most  widely  differing  divisions, 
while  others  abandon  the  attempt  altogether. 

It  is  clear,  at  the  outset,  that  from  chap.  iv.  onwards  accusation  of  Israel  occupies  the 
chief  place,  as  describing  its  degradation  and  guilt ;  and  Ewald  has  rightly  perceived  that 


10  UOSEA. 

chap.  iv.  is  to  be  separated  as  containing  a  general  charge,  relating  to  the  apostasy  o-enerall) 
of  the  people  from  Jehovah,  and  the  moral  deterioration  thereby  induced.  Then  in  chap 
v.  the  denunciation  is  more  specially  directed  against  those  of  exalted  position  (comp.  vers 
l),  and  as  its  subject,  in  addition  to  the  general  unfaithfulness  to  Jehovah,  something  special 
enters,  namely  the  false,  untheocratic  policy  of  "  going  after  Egypt  and  after  Assyria."  This 
is,  at  all  events,  the  new  element  here,  and  in  attempting  to  exhibit  the  progress  of  thought, 
this  point  must  so  far  be  made  prominent.  In  chap.  vi.  this  does  not  appear,  but  the 
chapter  is  so  closely  connected  with  chap,  v.,  that  no  partition  is  supposable.  On  the  other 
hand  the  denunciation  of  the  untheocratic  policy  becomes  still  more  marked  in  chap,  vii., 
being  there  directed  chiefly  against  th«  court  itself,  while  chaps,  v.  and  vi.  seem  to  be  aimed 
more  particularly  at  the  priests.  Hence  chap.  vii.  also  is  to  be  combined  with  these  chap- 
ters. So  in  all  these  chapters  the  threat  of  punishment  is  uniformly  united  with  the  accu- 
sations. But  actual  announcement  of  judgment  appears  first  in  chap,  viii.,  accusations  how- 
ever being  still  uttered.  Compare  the  beginning,  chap.  viii.  1,  and  it  seems  to  show  moue 
especially  that  the  punishment,  namely,  the  transportation  into  Egypt  and  Assyria,  and  there- 
fore, the  destruction  of  the  state,  the  carrying  away  into  captivity,  is  presented  as  the  re- 
verse side  of  the  calling  upon  Egypt  and  going  to  Assyria.  For  the  same  reason  chaps,  ix. 
and  x.  are  to  be  added  with  chap.  viii.  Chap.  x.  15  forms  a  fitting  close  to  this  section 
But  the  contrast  to  the  transportation  to  Egypt  and  Assyria  appears  again  only  in  chap.  xi. 
11,  so  that  we  stand  first  upon  new  ground  in  that  passage. 

Thus  with  chap.  xi.  begins  a  new  section,  and  with  it  enters  promise.  Jehovah's  love  to 
Israel,  which  seemed  to  be  utterly  swallowed  up  in  the  announcement  of  judgment,  here 
breaks  forth.  At  first,  indeed,  only  in  the  form  of  a  reminder  of  its  manifestations  in  early 
times,  how  it  was  vouchsafed  to  Israel  in  childhood.  This  is  naturally  expressed  in  a  sor- 
rowful complaint  against  that  Israel,  who  now  in  his  manhood  requites  that  love  so  ill,  dis- 
playing in  his  apostasy  the  basest  ingratitude.  Hence  we  have  again  in  chap.  xi.  5,  the 
most  severe  threatening.  But  Jehovah  has  again  brought  his  love  to  remembrance  ;  it  is  He 
that  loves  Israel,  as  had  been  already  shown  in  the  beginning  ;  this  love  is  his  essential  dis- 
position towards  Israel,  and  thus  cannot  in  the  present  belie  itself;  it  oversteps  wrath  and 
appears  as  mercy,  and  promise  breaks  forth  on  its  shining  way,  like  the  sun  after  dark  and 
long  distressing  clouds.  The  brief  recollections  of  former  times  in  chaps,  ix,  and  x-  only 
served  to  give  point  to  the  keen  accusings.  But  in  chap.  xi.  the  sun  breaks  forth  brightly. 
It  is  promise  that  now  prevails. 

But  the  storm  is  not  yet  past.  In  chaps,  xii.  and  xiii.  denunciation  and  announcement  of 
punishment  reappear.  Yet,  if  they  are  still  severe,  they  are  much  less  protracted.  But, 
chiefly,  there  seems  to  be  a  new  standpoint  gained.  It  is  the  past  that  is  dwelt  upon,  namely, 
what  had  transpired  between  Jehovah  and  Israel  in  former  days.  But  this  is  a  great  step 
gained.  Hence  the  weighty  words  are  twice  uttered  :  "  I  am  Jehovah,  thy  God,  from  the 
land  of  Egypt"  (chaps,  xii.  10;  xiii.  4).  This  thought  does,  it  is  true,  serve  to  sharpen 
the  complaint,  and  with  it  to  sharpen  the  threatening ;  but  that  people  cannot  be  given  up 
who  have,  from  the  beginning,  Jehovah  as  their  God.  Hence  in  chap.  xiv.  2-4,  the  exhor- 
tation to  return,  which  shows  clearly  his  determination  not  to  give  them  up  ;  and  now,  upon 
the  ground  of  their  expected  conversion,  love  at  last  flows  forth  in  the  fullest  promise,  which 
is  no  longer  merely  a  cessation  of  punishment,  as  in  chap.  xi.  9  fF.,  but,  positively,  holds  out 
in  prospect  a  glorious  state  of  blessedness. 

The  course  of  thought  is  accordingly  not  perfectly  undeviating,  but,  especially  towards 
the  close  after  the  highest  point  has  been  reached,  rather  deflected,  as  it  tends  towards  the 
conclusion  through  the  wrestling  of  love  and  justice,  which  it  thus  expresses.  Ewald  as- 
sumes after  chap,  xi.,  a  sort  of  preliminary  conclusion,  marking  an  interruption  in  writing. 
It  is,  at  all  events,  correct  to  assume  that  the  train  of  thought  has  then  reached  a  certain 
completion,  after  which  the  former  order  of  the  discourse  is  again  taken  up. 

The  following  scheme  will  exhibit  our  attempt  to  divide  the  section  :  — 

Jehovah  pleads  with  Israel,  his  beloved  but  unfaithful  spouse  (comp.  chap.  iv.  l). 

I.   First  discourse  (chaps,  iv.-xi.). 

1.   Chaps,   iv.-vii.      The   complaint,  addressed  — 

a.  (Chap,  iv.)  against  the  people  as  a  whole,  on  account  of  their  idolatry  and  deep  de- 
pravation of  morals  promoted  by  the  priests. 

b.  (Chaps,  v.-vii.)  :  against  the  rulers  (priests,  chaps,  v.-vi.),  court  (chap,  vii.),  espe- 
cially on  account  of  their  ungodly  and  calamitous  alliance  with  the  powers  of  the  world. 


INTRODUCTION.  1  \ 


2.  Chaps,  viii.-x.      The  judgment,  extending  even  to  the  carrying  away  of  the  people  U 
bondage  under  Assyria. 

3.  Chap.  xi.  Mercy  ;  God  cannot  utterly  destroy  Israel,  whom  He  has  always  loved,  but 
will  again  have  compassion  upon  them  even  though  they  have  most  vilely  requited  his  love. 

II.    Second  di^^'irse  (chaps,  xii.-xiv.). 

1.  Chap.  xii.      Complaint  is  once  more  resumed,  and  — 

2.  Chap,  xiii.,  judgment  is  most  emphatically  declared ;  but  — 

3.  Chap,  xiv.,  in  hope  of  conversion,  love  finally  flows  forth  in  the  promise  of  richest  blessiug. 
[Those  who  may  wish  to  become  acquainted  with  the  various  methods  of  dividing  the  book 

which  have  been  proposed,  will  find  them  exhibited  and  discussed  in  the  Biblical  Repertory, 
Jan.  1859,  art.  "  Book  of  Hosea,"  by  Prof.  Green,  of  Princeton.  A  division  having  much 
to  recommend  it  is  that  adopted  by  him  from  Keil,  according  to  which  each  of  the  two  main 
sections  (chaps,  i.-iii.,  iv.-xiv.)  is  divisible  into  three  smaller  ones  (i.  2-ii.  1,  ii.  2-23,  iii.  ; 
iv.  1-vi.  3,  vi.  4-xi.  11,  xi.  12-xiv.  9).  Each  of  these  smaller  sections  in  both  of  the  main 
divisions  is  marked  by  its  beginning  with  denunciation  and  ending  with  promise.  — M.] 

In  harmony  with  the  fundamental  thought  of  our  book,  as  above  presented,  according  to 
which  it  describes  the  sorrow  and  indignation  of  Jehovah's  love,  so  sorely  wounded  by 
Israel's  infidelity,  the  language  is  of  a  peculiarly  emotional  and  impassioned  character,  re- 
flecting unmistakably  the  rush  and  swell  of  the  feelings.  "  This  anguish  of  love  at  the  faith- 
lessness of  Israel  so  completely  fills  the  mind  of  the  Prophet,  that  his  rich  and  lively  imagi- 
nation seeks  perpetually  by  variety  of  imagery  and  fresh  turns  of  thought,  to  open  the  eyes 
of  the  sinful  nation  to  the  abyss  of  destruction  beside  which  it  is  standing.  His  profound 
sympathy  gives  to  his  language  the  character  of  excitement,  so  that  for  the  most  part  he 
merely  hints  briefly  at  the  thoughts  instead  of  studiously  elaborating  them,  passes  with 
abrupt  changes  from  one  figure  or  simile  to  another,  and  moves  forward  in  short  sentences 
and  oracular  utterances,  rather  than  in  gently  rounded  discourse."  (Keil.)  Jerome  (Prcef.  in 
XII.  Proph.  Min.)  says  of  him  :  "  Comma! icus  (literally,  cut  up  =  short)  est  et  quasi  per  sen- 
tentias  loquens."  Eichhorn  (Introduction,  §  555,  p.  286)  says  not  unaptly  :  "  The  style  of  the 
Prophet  is  like  a  garland  woven  of  various  kinds  of  flowers,  comparisons  intertwined  with 
comparisons.  He  breaks  off  one  flower  and  throws  it  away,  only  to  break  off  another  im- 
mediately. He  flies  like  a  bee  from  one  bed  of  flowers  to  another,  bringing  the  honey  of 
his  varied  sentences."  With  these  features  are  connected  manifold  anomalies  in  the  structure 
of  his  clauses,  rugged  transitions,  ellipses,  asyndetical  constructions,  inversions,  and  anacolu- 
tha.  Add  to  this  that  his  diction  is  marked  by  rare  words  and  forms  and  unusual  com- 
binations, and  it  may  be  conceived  how  difficult  is  the  exposition  of  the  book.  "  One  must 
often  read  between  the  lines  if  he  would  establish  the  connection  between  the  several 
thoughts  and  sentences.  We  will  not  be  charged  with  overstatement,  if  we  assert  that  the 
Prophet  is  in  this  respect  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Covenant,  and 
indeed  of  all  the  Biblical  writers."   (Wunsche.) 

The  abruptness  of  the  language,  reaching  often  to  obscurity,  does  not  merit  any  censure, 
for  this  peculiarity  is  to  be  explained  from  the  contents  and  the  subject  of  which  the  Prophet 
was  full.  "  His  heart,"  remarks  Wunsche,  "  full  of  the  deepest  anguish,  on  account  of  the 
destruction  and  the  inevitably  approaching  dissolution  of  the  State,  makes  him  neglect  all 
artistic  and  harmonious  treatment  and  exhibition  of  his  theme."  And  Ewald  says  with  per- 
fect correctness  :  "  In  Hosea  there  is  a  rich  and  lively  imagination,  a  pregnant  fullness  of 
language,  and,  in  spite  of  many  strong  figures,  great  tenderness  and  warmth  of  expression. 
His  poetry  is  throughout  purely  original,  replete  with  vigor  of  thought  and  purity  of  presen- 
tation. Yet  at  one  time  we  find  the  gentle  and  flowing  predominate  in  his  style,  while  at 
another  it  is  violently  strained  and  abrupt,  and  his  irresistible  pain  causes  him  often  to  give 
a  hint  of  his  meaning  without  allowing  him  to  complete  it.  There  is  also  thrown  over  the 
whole  language  the  burden  of  the  times  and  of  the  heart  so  oppressed  by  them." 

If,  finally,  we  inquire  into  the  composition  of  our  book,  we  find  no  ground  whatever  for 
maintaining  that  the  author  was  any  other  than  the  Prophet  himself,  or  for  the  assumption 
that,  although  the  several  discourses  came  from  Hosea,  they  were  yet  first  compiled  by  an 
ither  and  later  editor.  It  has  been  thought  that  their  aphoristic  character  justifies  such  a 
hypothesis,  but  we  are  convinced  that  this  is  not  so  marked  as  one  would  certainly  suppose 
at  first  sight,  and  that  the  several  portions  are  not  only  governed  by  one  fundamental  idea, 
which  would  probably  have  become  still  more  obscured  in  the  hands  of  a  later  redactor  of 
luch  fragments,  but  that  the  several   parts  are  brought  into  a  definite  order  and  connection* 


12  HOSEA. 

There  can  therefore  be  scarcely  a  doubt  that  our  book  came  from  the  hands  of  the  Prophe' 
precisely  in  that  form  in  which  we  possess  it  to-day.  "  On  closer  examination  the  book  if 
seen  to  form  a  complete  whole  executed  according  to  a  fixed  artistic  plan,  and  with  corre- 
sponding beauty.  This  artistic  plan  and  execution  only  need  to  be  rightly  understood  in 
order  to  show  us  that  it  was  finally  published  as  a  whole,  and  in  its  present  form,  by  the 
Prophet  himself."  (Evvahl.)  But  as  to  the  relation  in  which  this  book  stands  to  the  numer- 
ous prophetic  utterances  of  Hosea,  we  are  compelled  to  assume  that  we  have  not  in  this 
book  those  discourses  presented  in  their  original  form.  If  this  had  been  the  intention  of  the 
Prophet,  we  should  have  had  a  greater  number.  Moreover  the  book  is  framed  too  decidedlr 
according  to  a  certain  plan,  making  it  clear  that  it  was  designed  to  form  a  continuous  and 
regular  composition.  We  have  therefore  to  regard  it  as  a  selection  from  his  discourses,  or 
more  correctly,  as  a  free  and  independent  working-up  of  the  substance  of  them  by  the 
Prophet  himself.  His  several  utterances  are  combined  by  him  into  one  complete  picture. 
He  would  employ  not  only  his  lips  but  also  his  pen,  and  by  his  writings  would  testify 
concerning  the  holy  anger  of  the  love  of  God,  and  thus  appeal  to  the  consciences  of  the 
people. 

But  here  the  question  may  be  asked,  whether  our  book  is  the  first  product  of  Hosea's 
pen,  whether,  more  particularly,  earlier  writings  are  not  embodied  in  it.  At  the  outset  it  is 
certainly  to  be  assumed  that  Hosea  was  in  the  habit  of  writing  down  his  several  discourses 
But  keeping  this  in  view,  the  difference  between  the  first  part  of  the  book  (chaps,  i.-iii.) 
and  the  second  (chaps,  iv.  ff.)  is  so  significant,  the  contents  of  the  first  part,  moreover,  fall 
ing  in  an  earlier  period,  that  Ewald's  conjecture  has  much  to  support  it  :  that  chaps,  i.-iii 
contain  the  substance  of  an  earlier  composition  of  Hosea,  which  he  embodied  in  the  present 
one  when  he  executed  it.  Even  if  we  hesitate  to  go  so  far  as  this,  we  must  probably  as- 
sume that  the  separate  sections  of  chaps,  i.-iii.  had  been  published  already  by  the  Prophet, 
since  we  have  in  the  narratives  of  the  symbolical  actions  merely  the  drapery  in  which  they 
were  to  be  presented  to  the  world  and  not  actual  occurrences  (see  below).  For  in  those 
chapters  punishments  were  announced  which  were  inflicted  at  a  time  earlier  than  the  com- 
pletion of  the  whole  book.  The  Prophet  could  incorporate  into  his  book  only  at  a  later 
period  earlier  actual  events  ;  but  these  symbolical  transactions  existed  only  in  the  mind  of 
the  prophet,  and  in  publishing  them  he  must  have  come  forth  at  a  time  when  these  para- 
bolic narratives  could  address  themselves  to  the  conscience  of  the  people,  and  therefore  a 
considerable  period  before  the  composition  of  the  whole  book,  which,  as  we  now  have  it, 
contains,  in  its  second  part,  discourses  of  a  much  later  time.  Such  publication  of  the  sym- 
bolical transactions  might  indeed  have  been  at  first  only  oral ;  but  the  contents  of  these  sec- 
tions seem  less  appropriate  to  that  mode  of  announcement. 

The  preservation  of  the  whole  book  in  the  destruction  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Ten  Tribes 
may  be  readily  explained.  "  Through  the  intercourse  which  was  kept  up  between  the 
prophets  of  the  Lord  in  the  two  kingdoms,  it  was  carried  soon  after  its  composition  into 
Judah,  and  became  widely  diffused  in  the  circle  of  the  prophets,  and  was  thus  preserved,  as 
Jeremiah  especially  has  made  frequent  use  of  it  in  his  predictions.  Comp.  Aug.  Kiiper,  Jere- 
mias,  Librorum  SS.  Interpres  atque  Vindex.     Berlin,   1837,   p.  67  ff."     (Keil.) 

After  what  has  been  said  it  will  scarcely  be  necessary  to  add  anything  special  in  the  way 
of  exhibiting  the  importance  of  our  prophetic  book  in  Old  Testament  history  and  doctrine. 
Into  the  internal  relations  of  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes,  against  which  he,  like  his  older 
cotemporary,  Amos,  directs  his  words  of  rebuke  and  threatening  (by  which  these  two  proph- 
ets mark  a  new  step  in  prophecy,  in  distinction  from  Joel  and  Obadiah,  regarding  the 
heathen  not  merely  as  the  objects  but  also  as  the  instruments  of  the  divine  judgment,  which 
is  inflicted  with  the  greatest  severity  against  the  people  of  God  themselves),  —  into  the 
internal  relations  of  this  kingdom  Hosea  gives  us  the  deepest  insight,  and  affords  a  most 
essential  addition  to  the  knowledge  which  we  have  thereon  from  his  older  cotemporary.  As 
to  its  doctrinal  teaching,  however,  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  significance  of  a  book, 
which  regards  the  relation  of  Jehovah  to  Israel  so  profoundly  and  specially  from  the  stand- 
point of  holy  love,  of  a  holy  wrath  of  love,  and  looks  so  far  into  the  depths,  into  the  inten- 
sity as  well  as  into  the  sincerity,  of  such  love  as,  in  the  examination  of  the  contents  and  fun- 
damental thought  of  the  prophecy,  we  have  shown  that  it  does.  In  this  he  stands  above  hia 
nearest  predecessor,  Amos.  That  prophet  also  discerns  the  favor  of  God  shining  again  at 
.ast  upon  his  people  after  the  tempests  of  his  wrath.  But  he  grounds  it  upon  the  con- 
sciousness that  this  judgment  i9  and   shall   be  only  one  of  trial  and  not  of  destruction,  and 


INTRODUCTION.  13 


lhat  room  is  thus  prepared  for  mercy  through  the  revelation  of  wrath,  while  Hosea  traces 
back  this  duality  in  the  divine  revelation  to  the  nature  of  God  Himself,  by  his  more  pro- 
found conception  of  the  divine  love. 

Our  book  is  therefore  truly  a  classic  for  the  right  understanding  of  the  Old  Testament 
conception  of  God  with  its  interaction  of  love  and  wrath,  and  of  the  nature  of  the  Old 
Testament  revelat'on  concerning  God.  Only  such  a  God  who  can  so  be  angry  and  so  love, 
who  in  all  His  love  so  displays  anger  and  in  all  His  anger  so  displays  love,  could  give  uf 
his  Only-begotten  Son  to  the  accursed  death  for  the  deliverance  of  rebellious  man. 

§  3.   The  Symbolical   Transactions  in  Chaps.  I.  and  III. 

"What  is  recounted  in  these  chapters  is  so  peculiar,  and  has  always  been  regarded  under 
euch  different  views,  that  a  more  intimate  discussion  cannot  here  be  foreborne :  and  to  it  we 
shall  therefore  devote  a  separate  section  in  the  Introduction.  In  this  the  results  of  the  exe- 
egesis  of  the  passages  in  question  are  of  course  to  be  anticipated,  and  must  therefore  be  re- 
ferred to  here.  This  much  is  however  certain  that,  according  to  the  narrative,  mention  is 
made  of  a  marriage  of  the  Prophet  with  an  unchaste  woman  at  the  command  of  God  himself. 
Here  we  have  a  stone  of  stumbling.  It  is  true  that  the  ground  of  moral  offense  contained 
herein  does  not  exist  according  to  some  interpreters,  inasmuch  as  the  "  wife  of  whoredom  " 
whom  the  Prophet  is  to  marry,  is  regarded  as  being  such  in  the  spiritual  sense  in  which  a 
"  whoring  "  of  Israel  is  spoken  of  =  serving  idols  ;  that  Hosea  had  scruples  about  marrying  a 
whorish,  that  is,  an  idolatrous  woman  ;  and  that  it  is  commanded  him  not  to  stand  aloof  from 
her  but  to  exhibit  symbolically  in  his  own  domestic  fortunes,  that  is,  by  his  union  with  such 
a  woman,  Jehovah's  relation  to  his  people.  But  this  view  is  quite  untenable.  For  idolatry 
cannot  be  a  symbol  of  idolatry,  a  marriage  with  an  idolatress  cannot  be  a  symbol  of  a  like 
marriage,  namely,  the  marriage  of  Jehovah  with  an  idolatrous  people.  This,  altogether 
apart  from  the  consideration  that  such  a  command  of  God  to  the  prophet  is  not  conceivable, 
that  such  marriage  would  have  produced  upon  the  people  an  effect  exactly  opposite  to  the 
one  intended,  namely,  the  presentation  of  idolatry  to  the  consciousness  as  something  sinful, 
if  we  can  suppose  that  any  effect  was  produced.  Umbreit  also  seeks  to  establish  more 
firmly  the  interpretation  of  the  woman's  whoredom  as  spiritual  whoredom,  by  maintaining 
that  Hosea,  in  order  to  represent  God's  marriage  with  Israel,  was  commanded  to  enter  into 
marriage  with  Israel ;  but,  since  all  Israel  had  become  adulterous  towards  God,  that  he  was 
obliged  in  order  to  enter  the  marriage  relation  with  Israel,  to  unite  himself  to  a  whore  in  the 
spiritual  sense  =  idolatress.  Such  a  wife  thus  represents,  as  an  individual,  the  whole  peo- 
ple. And  this  outward  marriage  of  the  Prophet  is  the  symbol  of  his  spiritual  marriage  with 
his  people.  But  Kurtz  remarks  rightly  against  this  hypothesis,  that  the  notion  that  the 
Prophet  himself  was  to  enter  into  a  spiritual  marriage  with  Israel  is  quite  unfounded,  that 
such  a  conception  is  not  once  found  in  the  Old  Testament,  which  knows  only  of  a  marriage 
of  Jehovah  with  Israel ;  that  the  Prophet  by  his  external  marriage  could  symbolize  only 
that  spiritual  marriage  of  Jehovah,  and  not  his  own  spiritual  marriage  with  Israel.  For 
this  reason  his  marriage,  in  order  to  repi-esent  the  marriage  of  Jehovah  with  adulterous 
Israel,  must  be  a  marriage  with  a  whorish  woman  in  the  outward  sense. 

Thus  it  is  beyond  question  that  it  is  such  a  marriage  of  the  prophet  that  is  here  described, 
but  the  question  is  now  :  Must  we  assume  an  actual  outward  event  in  the  life  of  the  Prophet 
or  not  ? 

It  is  clear  that  we  have  before  us  a  transaction  which  has  a  symbolical  significance  and 
is  therefore  in  so  far  a  symbolical  transaction ;  but  the  question  is  just  this,  Is  this  an  actual 
event  intended  as  a  symbol  cf  a  higher  truth,  or  do  we  move  outside  the  sphere  of  objective 
reality  ?  The  latter  supposition  does  certainly  seem,  on  the  first  view,  to  be  excluded  by 
the  language  employed,  which  does  not  give  us  the  slightest  hint  that  we  have  presented  to 
us  anything  else  than  outward  reality,  but  rather  creates  the  impression  that  it  is  a  record 
of  actual  events.  And  it  is  not  to  be  maintained  that  the  narrative  has  to  do  with  some- 
:hing  physically  impossible,  that  it  bears  directly  upon  itself  the  stamp  of  unreality  in  the 
external  sense.  But  it  appears  all  the  more  probable  that  something  morally  impossible  is 
described ;  for  would  it  not  be  in  the  highest  degree  incredible  that  a  prophet  should  marry 
an  unchaste  woman,  and  that  at  the  express  command  of  God  ?  Hence  the  literal  interpre- 
tation has  been  rejected  already  by  the  Chaldee  Paraphrase  and  by  the  Jewish  Commenta- 
Sois.     But  this  plea  is  itself  not  altogether  without   difficulties.     The  reference  to  Lev.  xxi 


14  HOSEA. 

7-14,  at  all  events,  proves  nothing :  for  what  is  there  forbidden  to  a  priest  cannot  be  directl) 
transferred  to  a  prophet  (comp.  Kurtz  :  "  That  prohibition  is  based  upon  the  consideration 
that  the  priests  were  to  represent  the  ideal  holiness  of  the  people,  and  is  rooted  in  the  same 
ground  as  is  the  law  that  a  priest  must  be  free  from  physical  blemishes.  The  latter  injunc- 
tion is  as  far  as  possible  from  implying  that  physical  defect  is  sin  in  an  Israelite,  and  the 
same  holds  with  regard  to  the  former  ").  And  then  it  is  one  thing  to  have  intercourse  with 
an  unchaste  woman,  in  order  to  practice  fornication  with  her,  and  quite  another  to  marry 
such  a  woman.  The  one  is  as  assuredly  sinful  as  the  other  is  in  itself  not  so,  any  more 
than  it  was  for  Jesus  to  be  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.  For  the  prophet  would  not 
have  entered  into  such  an  alliance  that  he  might  be  assimilated  to  the  woman,  but  in  order 
to  raise  her  up  to  his  own  level,  to  rescue  her  from  her  sinful  habits :  "  Non  propheta  per- 
didil  pudicitiam  fornicarice  copulatus,  sed  fornicaria  assumsit  pudicitiam,  quam  antea  non 
habpbat  "  (Jerome). 

Such  an  alliance  in  the  Prophet  would  haye  been  in  the  very  highest  degree  surprising. 
But  it  may  be  asked,  Was  it  not  intended  to  be  so,  in  order  that  the  people,  in  their  aston- 
ishment at  such  an  anomaly,  should  ask  what  it  meant,  and  might  then  learn  to  their  shame, 
that  it  held  up  to  them  a  mirror  in  which  they  could  perceive  their  own  relations  with  God  9 
The  Prophet  would  reinforce  his  oral  preaching  by  a  preaching  of  outward  action  ;  this  mar- 
riage would  have  been  a  lasting  actual  proclamation  of  punishment  to  the  people,  not  im- 
peding the  influence  of  the  Prophet,  but  furthering  it. 

But  on  a  closer  examination  of  this  view,  which  understands  actual  events  to  be  described, 
most  serious  objections  to  it  are  immediately  suggested.  A  beautiful  picture  could  have 
been  drawn  exhibiting  the  morally  reforming  influence  of  this  alliance  upon  the  light-minded 
wife  and  the  neglected  children  of  the  first  marriage,  and  how  worthy  of  God  it  would  have 
been,  answering  to  his  compassionate  love  seeking  that  which  was  lost  I  But  of  this  there  i9 
not  a  syllable  —  not  a  syllable  could  be  said.  Rather,  this  idea,  which  alone  could  neutral- 
ize the  moral  objections  against  this  alliance  with  an  unchaste  woman,  is  completely  ex- 
cluded by  the  whole  spirit  and  aim  of  the  command  which  the  Prophet  received.  It  is  just 
the  present  "  whorish  "  conduct  of  Israel,  the  still  existing  and  continued  and  persistent  in- 
fidelity towards  Jehovah,  that  is  represented  by  this  marriage  of  the  Prophet,  and  punish- 
ment and  rejection  are  then  exhibited  as  the  necessary  fruit  and  conseqence  of  such  conduct. 
Thus  the  "  wife  of  whoredom,"  whom  the  Prophet  is  to  and  does  marry,  is  necessarily  to  be 
regarded  as  one  who  does  not  amend  her  ways,  or  is  withdrawn  from  her  life  of  sin  by  her 
alliance  with  the  Prophet,  but  who  even  now  in  this  alliance  with  him  is  conceived  as  prac- 
ticing unchastity,  who  shows  and  proves  herself  to  be  unfaithful  to  her  husband.  Other- 
wise she  would  not  be  at  all  an  image  of  Israel  as  thus  situated,  nor  would  this  marriage  be 
at  all  an  image  of  the  present  conduct  of  Israel  towards  their  husband,  Jehovah.  Strictly 
speaking,  this  wife  of  whoredom  would  have  been  bound,  so  long  at  least  as  her  marriage 
with  the  Prophet  was  to  testify  to  Israel  of  its  sin,  not  to  forsake  her  sinful  life  (until  special 
corrective  measures,  related  in  chap.  iii.  should  be  taken  with  her,  so  that  she  might  become 
a  testimony  of  that  which  God,  still  retaining  his  love  for  Israel,  would  do  to  them). 

There  is  no  need  to  prove  that  the  assumption  of  an  actual  occurrence  would  lead  to  an 
ethical  monstrosity.  With  the  design  of  this  marriage  to  exhibit  the  conduct  of  Israel 
towards  Jehovah,  is  most  clearly  connected  a  circumstance,  which  shows  more  plainly  than 
ever  the  non-reality  of  the  related  transaction,  namely,  that  the  Prophet  is  expressly  en- 
joined to  take  a  wife  of  whoredom  and  children  of  ivhoredom.  This  is  at  first  sight  surpris- 
ing, but  becomes  quite  intelligible  if  we  think  of  the  design,  of  that  which  was  to  be  exem- 
plified, the  conduct  of  Israel  and  all  its  individual  members.  Israel  in  the  concrete  is  repre- 
sented only  by  the  latter;  but  this  separation  of  a  part  from  the  whole  is  very  frequently 
found  in  relation  to  Israel.  Israel  as  the  whole  then  appears  as  the  mother,  the  individual 
members  as  the  children  (comp.  chap.  ii.  4  fF.).  Now  both  Israel  as  a  whole  and  all  the 
members  of  the  people  are  unfaithful  to  Jehovah,  they  "  commit  whoredom."  If  therefore 
the  actual  condition  of  affairs  in  its  whole  extent  is  to  be  represented  by  a  marriage  of  the 
Prophet,  he  must  take  to  wife  a  woman  still  practicing  unchastity,  and,  at  the  same  time 
nave  children,  who  are  children  of  whoredom,  that  is,  naturally  (see  also  below  in  the  exe- 
gesis) not  those  who  were  the  fruit  of  the  illicit  commerce  of  the  mother  (a  woman  charac- 
terized as  a  woman  of  whoredom  could,  in  fact,  have  no  other,  and  the  remark  would  be 
piite  superfluous),  but  children  who  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  whoredom  as  the  mother 
loes,  that  is,  who  practice  whoredom  as  she  did,  and  bear  therefore  a  faithful  resemblance  to 


INTRODUCTION.  la 


her.  How  then  is  the  Prophet  to  "  take  "  these  children  of  whoredom  ?  Naturally  the  no- 
tion of  such  "  taking,"  which  in  the  case  of  a  woman  means  marrying,  must  be  modified 
in  the  case  of  children.  Two  senses  are  supposable.  One  is  that  he  obtains  them  by  mar- 
riage as  children  already  born  to  his  wife.  In  that  case  he  is  obliged  to  find  out  an  un- 
chaste woman,  who  has  children  that  already  commit  whoredom  ;  and  not  only  so,  but  they 
must  actually  continue  that  habit  ;  for  otherwise  the  symbol  no  longer  meets  the  conditions 
of  the  case,  the  sign  no  longer  agrees  with  the  thing  signified.  In  short,  under  the  assump- 
tion of  an  objective  reality  in  this  transaction,  we  come  again  to  an  ethical  monstrosity.  But 
the  case  is  still  worse,  if  we  understand  "  taking  "  the  children  in  the  sense  of  begetting  them 
with  the  wife  (and  this  view  is  the  more  probable  one  ;  see  the  exegesis  below).  For  Jeho- 
vah is  married  to  Israel,  and  they  are  unfaithful  to  Him  ;  and  Jehovah  has  begotten  children 
by  this  marriage  —  the  individual  members  of  the  people  —  and  they  also  are  unfaithful  to 
Him,  they  "  commit  whoredom."  So  the  Prophet,  in  order  to  manifest  this,  must  not  only 
take  a  wife  of  the  above  description,  but  also  beget  children  by  her  who  are  of  the  same 
character  as  she,  are  unchaste  like  her.  It  might  be  known  antecedently  that  they  would 
be  so  ;  they  are,  so  to  speak,  predestined  to  such  a  character ;  if  it  were  otherwise,  they 
would  fail  to  perform  their  part,  they  would  not  represent  what  it  was  intended  they  should. 
To  speak  of  actual  reality  in  such  a  case  is  now  a  sheer  impossibility.  The  thing  signified, 
that  which  is  to  be  represented,  is  revealed  too  clearly  through  the  sign,  that  which  is  to  set 
forth  the  relation  ;  only  one  thing  could  make  it  plainer,  namely,  that  the  Prophet  should 
add  :  of  course  this  was  not  really  done  !  —  but  one  must  be  almost  blind  to  suppose,  even 
for  a  moment,  that  it  could  be.  The  symbol  is  arranged  simply  in  accordance  with  the  thing 
to  be  symbolized,  without  reference  to  the  consideration  that  in  concrete  reality  it  would 
encounter  invincible  obstacles  :  naturally  such  reference  does  not  need  to  be  had,  because 
the  transaction  was  not  realized  in  concreto  and  in  facto,  but  was  only  a  plastic  symbolizing 
of  a  certain  condition  of  affairs  which  was  to  be  denounced. 

We  must  now  go  a  step  backwards.  That  which  morally  excites  such  objections  lies  not 
merely  in  the  fact  of  this  marriage  with  an  unchaste  woman,  of  whom  again  unchaste  chil- 
dren were  to  be  born,  but  also  in  its  design.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  alliance  spoken  of 
has  its  aim  purely  out  of  itself,  terminates  in  nowise  upon  itself,  but  is  merely  a  mean  to  an 
end.  This  end  is  not  the  begetting  of  children.  They  are  certainly  to  be  begotten,  but 
they  are  themselves  only  means  to  an  end,  with  their  significant  names,  which  they  receive 
in  order  to  announce  to  the  people  their  rejection.  This  marriage  was  thus  to  be  contracted 
purely  for  the  purpose  of  symbolizing  another  fact  which  lay  altogether  without  the  sphere 
of  marriage.  Such  a  conclusion  cannot  be  disputed  unless  there  is  imported  into  the  words 
something  foreign  to  them.  Let  the  words  be  followed  closely,  let  not  separate  expressions  : 
he  went  and  took,  etc.,  be  emphasized,  but  the  whole  be  accepted  and  understood  as  it 
reads,  with  no  interlarding  of  all  sorts  of  notions,  about  the  use  and  plausibility  of  this  alli- 
ance, of  which  nothing  is  indicated,  and  the  narrative  will  be  seen  to  relate  to  a  marriage 
and  procreation  of  children  which  are  purely  symbolical  and  described  solely  as  serving  the 
purposes  of  an  emblematic  representation.  And  that  this  transaction,  considered  as  an  oc- 
currence of  outward  reality,  is  something  inconceivable,  opposed  to  the  spirit  and  significance 
of  marriage,  is  so  clear,  that  the  Prophet  did  not  need  to  give  the  least  hint  of  its  unliteral 
character  (if,  indeed,  that  had  been  the  custom  of  the  Prophets).  No;  an  actual  marriage 
is  not  concluded  simply  in  order  to  symbolize  something  different ;  the  marriage  is  a  symbol 
of  a  higher  covenant.  But  its  design  is  not  realized  in  such  symbolizing.  That  would  be  a 
trilling  with  the  idea  of  marriage,  agreeing  but  little  with  the  profound  conception  of  that 
state,  which  the  Prophet  brings  to  light  in  this  very  act  of  conceiving  the  relation  between 
Jehovah  and  Israel  as  a  marriage.  I  can  give  a  name  to  a  child  born  of  a  marriage,  for  the 
purpose  of  indicating  something  by  it  symbolically ;  but  it  would  be  something  quite  differ- 
ent if  I  were  to  enter  into  the  married  state  simply  for  this  purpose.  And  hence  the  refer- 
ence to  Is.  vii.  14  ;  viii.  3,  4,  where,  however,  an  outward  act  is  narrated,  is  altogether  un- 
suitable. If  recourse  is  had  to  the  words  of  the  text,  it  may  be  replied  that  many  pro- 
phetic passages,  e.  g.,  Jer.  xxv.  15  ff.,  Zech.  xi.,  show  clearly  that  the  simple  words  of  the 
narrative  are  not  decisive.  In  such  passages  the  words,  taken  literally,  even  when  relating 
io  symbolical  transactions,  seem  to  record  an  occurrence  entirely  objective,  though  no  one 
supposes  that  they  really  do  so.  In  other  passages  this  inference  is  more  patent,  while  here 
.'t  is  obscured,  though  only  apparently  so  ;   for  that  which  it  is  ethically  inadmissible  to  sup 


Ltj  HO  SEA. 

pose  should  be  done  by  the  command  of  God,  is  just  as  incredible  as  the  occurrence  of  thai 
which  is  physically  impossible. 

We  have  now  to  consider,  finally,  in  what  a  brief  period  the  action  is  performed,  the  rap- 
idity with  which  the  several  acts  are,  and  are  intended  to  be,  presented.  It  is  the  rapidity 
which,  if  the  word  may  be  allowed,  is  well  suited  to  a  dramatic  conception,  but  not  to  con- 
crete reality.  By  literalists  the  fact  is  entirely  ignored  that  this  symbolical  course  of  teach- 
ing would  have  required  three  years  at  least  for  its  complete  unfolding.  And  in  connection 
with  the  other  considerations  the  remark  of  Simson  (in  spite  of  the  strictures  of  Kurtz) 
is  perfectly  just :  "  After  each  of  the  four  principal  scenes  which  make  up  the  symbolical 
narrative  (vers.  2,  4,  6,  9),  the  explanation  and  occasion  of  the  symbol  follows,  connected 
with  '  for '  in  such  a  peculiar  way,  that  it  may  be  gathered  indubitably,  simply  from  this 
connection  and  the  whole  manner  of  expression,  that  the  figure  is  not  presented  in  its  act- 
uality, but  is  only  devised  for  the  sake  of  making  evident  to  the  senses  the  lessons  it 
unfolds."  Thus  the  view  which  regards  the  actions  described  as  real  occurrences  is  seen  to 
be  untenable  if  we  do  not  even  go  beyond  the  first  section  ;  nor  do  we  need  to  add  to  the 
other  arguments  the  relation  of  chap.  iii.  to  our  section.  On  the  contrary,  we  think  that 
arguments  have  been  too  much  drawn  from  that  portion  of  the  book,  and  therefore  too 
largely  based  upon  external  grounds,  and  for  this  reason  less  convincing  than  they  should  be. 

Now  after  this  negative  result,  that  the  narrative  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  relating  actual 
occurrences,  the  question  first  arises  :  What  then  does  it  relate  ?  A  vision  ?  So  the  Jewish 
commentators,  and  in  recent  times  especially  Hengstenberg.  This  view  does  indeed  surren- 
der the  externality  of  the  transaction,  but  it  holds  to  its  actuality,  only  assuming  that  it  was 
not  experienced  outwardly  but  inwardly.  With  regard  to  this  hypothesis  of  a  vision,  it  is 
admitted  that  a  "  beholding  "  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  prophetic  announcement,  that  is, 
a  vision  in  the  wider  sense  (comp.  the  remarks  on  Amos,  chap.  vii.).  But  we  are  not  justi- 
fied on  this  account  in  assuming  at  once  that  the  Prophet  was  in  an  ecstatic  state.  There 
is  not  the  least  hint  of  such  a  thing  given  in  our  passage  ;  for  nothing  is  said  of  a  vision 
in  the  narrower  sense,  and  hence  we  are  unwarranted  in  adopting  such  an  assumption  here. 
He  certainly  "  beheld,"  as  all  the  prophets  did,  that  which  he  here  relates  in  parabolic  dis- 
course.    It  is  thus  that  the  narrative  is  most  properly  designated. 

But  it  may  be  asked  :  If,  according  to  the  above  reasoning,  it  leads  to  a  series  of  monstros- 
ities to  regard  the  (symbolical)  transaction  as  an  actual  occurrence,  was  it  allowable  for  the 
Prophet  even  to  present  it  in  a  parabolic  dress  ?  This  objection,  which  it  seems  to  be,  is 
possible  only  under  a  misapprehension  of  the  whole  aim  of  the  exhibition.  The  action  rep- 
resented is  certainly  bold,  is  surprising,  is,  we  say  directly,  exorbitant.  But  it  was  just  in- 
tended to  be  so.  It  was  intended,  as  we  remarked  above,  to  rouse  the  hearer  into  uttering 
the  question  :  What  ?  do  I  hear  aright  ?  What  do  you  say  the  prophet  must  do  ?  The 
thing  to  be  set  forth,  the  thing  signified,  is  something  abnormal,  contradictory,  something 
which  it  seems  could  never  occur,  that  Israel  should  "  commit  whoredom,  departing  from 
their  God  "  ;  and  not  this  merely,  but  also  (which,  to  be  sure,  is  the  necessary  consequence 
of  the  former)  that  God  should  reject  this  His  people,  His  spouse,  to  whom  He  had  always 
been  faithful,  to  whom  He  had  been  so  beneficent.  Since  this  condition  of  affairs  to  be 
represented,  the  "  thing  signified,"  was  of  such  a  character,  it  must  be  set  forth  by  the  de- 
scription of  an  occurrence  of  a  like  kind,  that  is,  one  which  is  just  as  abnormal,  contra- 
dictory, and  unprecedented,  thus  necessarily  rousing  the  attention  to  consider  how  a  prophet 
could  marry  a  whore  at  the  bidding  of  God,  and  by  her  beget  children,  who  should  receive, 
also  at  God's  command,  names  indicative  of  punishment,  from  their  resemblance  to  their 
mother.  There  is  therefore  intentionally  something  monstrous,  something  ethically  impossi- 
ble, held  up  to  the  people  as  though  it  had  happened,  in  order  that  it  might  be  forced  upon 
their  consciousness,  bow  utterly  abnormal,  how  monstrous,  how  opposed  to  the  right  order  of 
things,  is  that  which  they  had  done  to  God,  and  which  He  must  do  to  them.  That,  therefore, 
which  the  prophet  relates  to  the  people  is  related  to  them,  because  it  is  something  monstrous; 
but  being  so,  it  was  just  as  certainly  not  a  statement  of  actual  fact  for  this  very  reason.  If 
we  were  to  maintain  the  opposite,  we  should  mistake  the  design  of  the  prophet.  He  would 
say  :  As  Israel  has  acted  towards  God,  and  as  He  must  treat  his  people  in  retur-  so  would 
I,  the  prophet,  act  if  I  were  to  marry  a  whorish  woman.  As  impossible  as  the  jaUer  is,  so 
'mpossible  sbould  the  former  be ;  and  yet  alas  it  is  a  reality  I 

But  it  may  be  objected :  The  prophet's  marriage  would  indeed  represent  to  the  people 
.heir  apostasy  from  Jehovah,  and  the  names  of  the  prophet's  children  would   bring  perpefa* 


INTRODUCTION.  1 f 


ally  to  their  consciousness  the  judgment  which  they  must  expect  in  return  ;  but  if  that  mar 
riage  did  not  take  place,  and  the  children  never  existed,  how  could  such  a  design  be  carried 
out  ?  Now,  this  objection  is  based  simply  upon  an  unwarranted  supposition,  and  the  infer- 
ence drawn  therefrom  must  be  false.  It  is  taken  for  granted  that  such  an  argumentatio  ad 
oculos  by  outward  action  must  have  been  made  by  the  Prophet,  that  the  Prophet  intended  to 
du  su,  judging  from  the  statements  of  the  book,  and  that  therefore  we  have  a  narrative  of 
actual  occurrences,  while  it  is  never  said  that  the  prophet  had  any  such  intention.  The 
Prophet  may  just  as  well  have  intended  to  appeal  to  the  people,  not  by  means  of  outward 
action,  but  by  a  discourse  in  which  certain  actions  were  the  drapery  of  those  truths  which 
were  to  be  proclaimed.  Whether  this  discourse  was  originally  oral  or  not,  as  other  prophet- 
ical discourses  usually  were,  or  whether  it  existed  from  the  beginning  in  a  written  form,  we 
do  not  know.  If  the  former  supposition  is  correct,  we  are  not  obliged  to  assume,  any  more 
than  in  other  prophetical  discourses,  that  it  possessed  precisely  the  same  form  as  that  which 
we  now  have,  since  it  would  have  the  form  appropriate  to  oral  discourse.  It  is  quite  wrong, 
however,  to  insist  that  such  a  mere  recital,  —  heard  to-day  and  forgotten,  perhaps,  to-morrow, 
—  could  have  but  little  influence,  and  make  but  little  impression,  for  at  least  its  fixed  written 
form  followed  with  its  words  speaking  perpetually  to  the  conscience.  And  it  has  been  said 
already  above  in  §  2,  that  such  a  fixed  form  was  probably  given  to  it  before  the  composi- 
tion of  the  whole  book,  as  at  present  constituted,  and  during  the  period  in  which  the  dis- 
courses of  the  first  part  were  pronounced. 

But  another  argument  still  is  adduced  against  the  supposition  of  a  parabolic  recital,  which 
is  seen  to  be  so  necessary  from  all  that  has  been  said.  It  is  urged  that  this  would  derogate 
from  the  character  of  the  prophetic  word  ;  that  the  Prophet  speaks  expressly  and  repeat- 
edly of  a  command  of  the  Lord  which  he  had  received ;  that,  if  the  whole  were  only  a 
feigned  transaction,  the  words,  "  the  Lord  said,"  would  be  degraded  into  a  meaningless, 
rhetorical  phrase,  which  would  be  opposed  to  the  divinely  objective,  character  of  Prophecy. 
Certainly  our  whole  position  would  be  viewed  with  distrust,  if  this  drapery  of  narrative  in 
which  the  Prophet  clothes  his  message  of  instruction  and  rebuke,  which  he  records,  and  in 
which  he  makes  mention  of  an  express  command  of  God,  were  to  be  regarded  by  him  as  only 
an  arbitrary  device  (rhetorical  or  as  being  appropriate  to  the  plan  of  the  book).  But  what 
is  there  to  support  such  an  assumption?  In  this,  as  throughout  his  prophetic  ministry,  the 
Prophet  rather  acted  and  spoke  from  a  divine  impulse.  He  had  beheld  what  he  had  to  say 
to  the  people,  reproach  of  their  sinfulness  and  threatening  of  punishment,  and  how  he  had 
to  say  it,  that  is,  he  had  received  from  God  in  spirit  an  authorization  and  an  impulse  to 
adopt  this  form  of  rebuke,  to  present  his  divine  commission  in  the  form  of  feigned  events. 
It  has  been  further  remarked  (e.  g.,  by  Kurtz),  that  we  have  the  words :  go,  take,  etc.,  and 
not :  go,  tell  the  people  that  thou  hast  taken  a  wife,  etc.  But  this  objection  is  without  force. 
For  the  expression  :  "  The  Lord  said  to  Hosea,  go,  take  to  thyself,"  etc.,  is  itself  included 
already  in  the  parabolical  discourse  as  well  as  vers.  4,  6,  9 ;  and  to  insist  that  the  Prophet 
must  have  given  some  hint  that  he  was  not  intending  to  record  an  actual  occurrence,  argues 
a  somewhat  crude  notion  of  the  obligations  of  a  writer.  A  parabolic  discourse  must  not 
bear  the  appearance  of  being  so ;  on  the  contrary  it  must  present  itself  as  describing  actual 
events  (comp.  e.  g.,  Judges  ix.  8  ;  2  Sam.  xii.),  though  it  does  not  really  do  so.  It  bears 
in  itself  a  sapienti  sat  which  shows  that  it  does  not,  —  and  thus  our  narrative  is  really  two 
fold.  In  general  the  fact  is  evidently  always  overlooked,  that  we  have  before  us  in  these 
seemingly  historical  portions,  not  a  statement  concerning  the  Prophet,  but  the  written  dis- 
course of  the  Prophet  himself;  that,  therefore,  behind  the  words  there  stands,  so  to  speak, 
the  prophet  writing.  It  is  not  his  duty  to  record  events  as  an  historian ;  and  the  inference 
is  unwarranted,  that  he  must  do  so  because  what  he  says  has  the  form  of  an  historical  rec- 
ord. Hence,  according  to  correct  conceptions  as  to  what  different  kinds  of  composition  re- 
quire, no  objection  based  upon  the  form  of  representation  can  be  made  to  the  parabolic 
view.  And  the  circumstance  that  the  Prophet  is  spoken  of  in  the  third  person,  cannot  be 
adduced  as  a  proof  that  he  does  not  here  speak  and  narrate  (figuratively),  and  that  a  statement 
is  made  concerning  him.  It  cannot,  at  least,  by  any  one  who  regards  the  whole  book  to  be 
Jie  composition  of  the  Prophet  and  not  a  mere  compilation  by  another.  Moreover,  in  chap, 
ii.  the  Prophet  introduces  himself  as  speaking  of  himself  in  the  first  person.  And,  finally, 
it  proves  nothing  that  the  name  and  origin  of  the  woman  are  given.  Even  if  the  names 
we  not  applied  appellatively  (see  in  the  exegesis),  nothing  would  be  more  natural  than  ta 
nvent  names  for  the  occasion,  which  would  be  a  device  appropriate  in  a  symbolical  discourse* 


18  HOSEA 

If  we  now  turn  to  chap.  iii.  and  hold  the  identity  of  the  woman  named  there  with  th* 
one  in  chap,  i.,  the  question  is  decided  of  itself.  For  if  the  marriage,  mentioned  in  chap,  i., 
of  the  Prophet  with  this  woman,  was  not  an  actual  occurrence,  it  is  self  evident  that  his  deal 
ino-s  towards  her  in  chap.  iii.  are  not  more  historical.  If  he  did  not  in  reality  marry  tln> 
woman,  then  he  did  not  actually  perform  what,  in  chap,  iii.,  he  is  commanded  to  do,  love  her. 
The  woman  is,  in  chap,  i.,  only  a  feigned  person,  and  if  the  same  person  is  meant  in  chap. 
iii.  she  cannot  be  a  real  person.  But  if  we  regard  the  woman  of  chap.  iii.  as  not  identical 
with  that  of  chap,  i.,  we  have,  in  the  fact  that  the  Prophet  becomes  connected  with  another 
woman,  disregarding  his  marriage  with  the  one  mentioned  in  chap,  i.,  we  have  here,  I  say,  a 
clear  indication,  applying  to  the  whole  narrative  from  the  beginning,  that  these  descriptions 
do  not  relate  to  actual  events  in  the  Prophet's  life.  For  it  is  plain  that  the  assumption  of 
his  separation  from  the  first  wife,  or  of  her  death  in  the  interval,  is  only  a  device  to  escape 
from  a  dilemma.  Such  circumstances  must  have  been  stated,  if  actual  events  had  been 
related  ;  but  not  a  syllable  is  found  to  this  effect,  simply  because  it  was  assumed  that  no  one 
would  think  of  real  occurrences. 

But,  leaving  the  consideration  of  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  woman  mentioned 
in  chap,  i.,  and  regarding  simply  by  itself  the  command  given  to  the  Prophet  in  chap.  iii. 
according  to  his  own  representation  of  it,  we  find  the  matter  here  to  be  somewhat  differ 
ent. 

The  fact  is  to  be  set  forth  that  Jehovah  preserves  his  faithfulness  to  Israel  in  spite  of  their 
unfaithfulness,  and  therefore  does  not  utterly  cast  them  off,  but  only  adopts,  for  their  good, 
corrective  measures  springing  from  such  abiding  faithfulness.  Thus  something  is  to  be  ex- 
emplified which  would  not  be  expected,  since  rejection  would  be  the  more  natural  course,  but 
nothing  which  should  not  be,  nothing  which  could  be  found  fault  with  or  would  invite  cen- 
sure. And  accordingly  the  symbol,  or  that  which  the  Prophet  was  commanded  to  do,  w:u 
not  something  ethically  inadmissible  or  monstrous,  but  only  something  difficult,  unusual,  be- 
cause involving  great  self-denial,  namely,  that  he  should  remain  faithful  to  an  unfaithful 
wife.  And  what  is  declared  to  have  been  done  by  him  is  in  the  same  way  not  something 
inadmissible,  but  only  something  unusual ;  for  by  a  series  of  corrective  measures  the  unfaith- 
fulness of  the  wife  is  to  be  brought  home  to  her  heart,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  was  to  be 
shown  that  she  would  not  be  rejected.  Now  though  it  might  appear  as  if  very  little  could 
be  urged  in  disproof  of  the  actual  occurrence  of  the  event  described  (that  is,  if  it  be  viewed 
as  an  isolated  account),  yet  here  also  grave  objections  arise  upon  a  closer  examination. 
Even  if  the  woman  of  chap.  iii.  is  not  to  be  identified  with  that  of  chap,  i.,  the  former  is 
hardly  conceived  of  as  being  of  another  character  than  the  latter.  The  woman  is  not  one 
who  was  previously  chaste  and  afterwards  became  unchaste,  but  one  whose  adultery  is  only 
the  manifestation  of  her  former  disposition,  and  a  continuation  of  her  previous  mode  of  life, 
and  the  Prophet  would  thus  be  represented  as  entering  into  such  intimate  relations  with  her 
—  whether  he  married  her  or  not  would  not  be  certain  —  which  again  would  border  closely 
upon  the  morally  offensive  and  become  for  the  Prophet  an  impossibility.  Here  the  canon  is 
again  to  be  applied,  that  acts,  which  are  of  an  essentially  immoral  nature  and  fall  under 
moral  criticism,  cannot  be  regarded  upon  external  grounds  as  having  been  actually  per- 
formed by  divine  command.  Thus  a  husband  might,  it  is  true,  be  so  controlled  by  the 
thought  of  God's  faithfulness,  as  even  to  remain  faithful  to  an  unfaithful  wife,  that  is,  from 
moral  and  religious  considerations,  whether  suggested  by  himself  or  by  another.  But  this 
is  not  the  case  presented  here  :  the  narrative  speaks  not  of  an  act  undertaken  or  a  course 
of  conduct  discontinued  upon  any  such  ground,  but  simply  of  a  positive  command  of  God, 
which  was  not  intended  to  remind  the  husband  of  a  duty  demanded  of  him,  but  which  was 
'•ssued  with  the  design  of  a  manifestation  of  God's  attitude  towards  the  people  of  Israel,  a 
design  altogether  foreign  to  the  nature  of  marriage  or  the  injunction  of  fidelity. 

The  Prophet  is  represented  as  doing  what  he  here  does  purely  for  this  external  purpose  ; 
not  from  the  recognition  of  a  duty,  and  not  to  call  attention  to  such  duty :  he  does  it  plainly 
in  order  to  symbolize  something  different.  This  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  parabolic 
mode  of  presentation  ;  but  as  soon  as  we  come  to  hold  the  notion  of  an  actual  transaction, 
the  moral  sense  revolts  against  it  as  against  a  trilling  with  things  which  belong  essentially 
>o  the  sphere  of  the  moral  and  religious  life,  and  therefore  cannot  be  employed  as  means  to 
ierve  another  purpose.  Finally,  if  we  had  real  transactions  presented  to  us  and  not  a  sym- 
bolical form,  it  could  not  be  very  well  supposed  that  the  woman,  accepting  the  gift  of  tho 
Prophet  would  he  inclined  to  obey  his  command.     The  possibility  of  the  opposite  would 


INTRODUCTION.  15 


?ather  have  to  be  assumed,  which  was  manifestly  not  the  case.  But  in  the  parabolic  nar- 
rative this  happens  naturally  just  as  the  purposes  of  instruction  require. 

On  the  question  treated  in  this  section  compare  the  thorough  discussion  by  John  Marck, 
Diatribe  de  Muliere  Fornicationum,  Leyden,  1696,  reprinted  in  his  Comment,  in  12  Proph. 
Min.,  ed.  Pfaff,  1 734  ;  and  in  more  recent  times  especially  Hengstenberg,  Christ  ologie,  L 
205  ff.,  who  denies  the  actual  occurrence  of  the  events  described,  and  the  minute  investi- 
gation of  Kurtz,  Die  Eke  des  Propheten  Hosea  [The  Marriage  of  the  Prophet  Hosea],  1859, 
reprinted  from  the  Dorpat  Zeitschrift  fur  Theologie  und  Kirche,  who  holds  as  strongly  to  the 
literal  interpretation. 

[The  question  so  fully  discussed  above  is  encumbered  with  difficulties  so  great  as  to  seem 
almost  insuperable,  and  it  is  probable  that  it  will  never  be  satisfactorily  settled.  Instances 
might  even  be  quoted  of  the  same  interpreter  holding  directly  opposite  opinions  within  a 
very  short  period  of  time.  If  the  history  of  interpretation  were  to  be  thoroughly  surveyed, 
it  might  perhaps  be  found  that  the  majority  of  distinguished  names  have  been  arrayed  on 
the  side  of  the  literal  view.  It  may  be  remarked,  however,  that  among  modern  interpreters, 
the  more  reverent  and  cautious  of  those  of  Germany  seem,  as  a  general  rule,  to  favor  the 
theory  that  the  prophet  was  not  to  fulfill  the  commands  actually  and  outwardly.  Among  the 
Anglo-American  Commentators,  on  the  other  hand,  the  preponderance  of  opinion  still  is,  as  it 
always  has  been,  in  favor  of  the  literal  interpretation.  So  among  the  recent  writers,  Pusey 
and  Cowles.  The  opinion  that  the  Prophet  beheld  the  events  in  vision  has  been  maintained 
by  Pococke  and  lately  by  Fausset.  This  theory  is  discussed  at  length  by  Cowles  in  a  dis- 
sertation appended  to  his  Commentary,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred.  It  may  be  remarked, 
generally,  that  the  main  support  upon  which  the  defenders  of  the  literal  interpretation  rely,  is 
the  nature  of  the  language  employed,  bearing,  as  it  does,  not  the  slightest  indication  that  the 
commands  were  to  be  fulfilled  in  any  other  than  a  literal  manner,  and  that  the  opponents 
of  this  theory  take  their  stand  chiefly  upon  the  supposed  moral  impossibility  of  the  literal 
fulfillment.  The  conclusion  which  each  reader  will  arrive  at  for  himself  will  depend  mainly 
upon  the  relative  force  which  these  considerations  may  have  upon  his  mind.  —  M.] 

§  4.    Literature. 

Single  Commentaries  :  Hoseas  Chaldaica  Jonathanis  Paraphrasi  et  R.  Saiom.  Jizchaki 
R.  Abrah.  Aben-Esrce  et  R.  David  Kimchii  commentariis  illuslratus  (Hosea,  illustrated  by 
the  Chaldee  Paraphrase  of  Jonathan  and  the  Commentaries  of  R.  Solomon  Isaaki,  R. 
Abraham  Aben-Ezra  and  R.  David  Kimchi),  edited  by  Von  der  Hardt.  Helmstadt,  1703, 
4to ;  new  edition  by  J.  D.  Michaelis,  1775;  Rabbi  Isaac  Abarbenel,  Comm.  in  Hoseam, 
edited  by  Franc,  ab  Husen,  Leyden,  1687. 

Of  the  age  of  the  Reformation  :  Capito,  Comm.  in  Hoseam,  Strassburg,  1528  ;  Brentius, 
Comm.  in  Hoseam  Proph.,  1560  and  1580. 

Of  the  last  part  of  the  sixteenth,  with  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  :  Jac. 
Matthffius,  Prcdectiones  in  Hoseam,  Basle,  1590;  Am.  Polanus,  Analysis  Libri  Hosece  Proph. 
Basle,  1599  ;  Hier.  Zanchius,  Comm.  in  Hoseam,  Neost.,  1600  ;  Dav.  Pareus,  Hoseas,  Pr. 
Comm.  Must.,  Heidelberg,  1605-1609  ;  Mich.  Krackewitzius,  Comm.  in  Hos.,  Frankfort, 
1619  ;  Balth.  Meisnerus,  Hoseas,  Viteb.,  1620  ;  And.  Rivetus,  Comm.  in  Hoseam,  Leyden, 
1625  ;  Exposition  of  the  Prophecy  of  Hosea,  by  Jer.  Burroughs,  Oxford,  1643-1652,  3  vols.; 
Henr.  Ursinus,  Hos.  Comm.  literali  enucleaius,  Norib.,  1677  ;  Pococke,  Commentaries  on 
Hosea,  Joel,  Micah,  and  Malachi,  Oxford,  1685;  Seb.  Schmidius,  Comm.  in  Pr.  Hos.,  Frank- 
fort, 1687;  Franc.  Vavassor,  Comm.  in  Hos.  Proph.  (In  his  works,  Amsterdam,  1709);  De 
Prophetie  van  Hosea  outledigt  door  J.  Biermann  [The  Prophecy  of  Hosea  expounded  by 
J.  Biermann],  Utrecht,  1702;  Wackius,  Expos,  et  illust.  Hosece,  Ratisbou,  1711  ;  Hoseas  His- 
tories et  Antiquitati  reddilus  ab  Herm.  von  der  Hardt,  Helmst.,  1712;  Dathe,  Dissert,  in 
dquilce  reliquias  interpr.  Hosece,  1757;  Manger,  Comment,  in  Hos.,  Campis,  1782:  Schroder, 
Der  Proph.  Hosea  aus  bibl.  und  weltlichen  Historien  erldutert,  etc.  [The  Prophet  Hosea 
ucidated  from  sacred  and  profane  histories],  Dessau,  1782;  L.  J.  Uhland,  Annotal.  Hist 
Exeg.  in  Hoseam,  Tubingen,  1785-1797;  J.  C.  Volborth,  Erldarung  des  Proph.  Hosea  [Ex 
oosition  of  the  Prophet  Hosea],  Gottingen,  1787;  C.  T.  Kuinoel,  Hosece  Oracula  Hebr.  et 
Lat.  Perp.  Annot.  illustr.,  1792;  J.  Ch.  Baupel,  Der  Proph.  Hosea  erkldrt  [The  Prophet 
4osea  explained],  Dresden,  17!t;l. 

Of  the  present  century  :    R.   G.  A.  Ronkel,  Hoseas,  Augsburg,  1807  ;  J.  C.  Stuck,  Hosea* 


20  HOSEA. 

Propheta,  Leipzig,  1828  ;  Simson,  Der  Proph.  Hosea  erklart  und  iibersetzt  [The  Prophet 
Hosea  explained  and  translated],  Hamburg  and  Gotha,  1851  ;  O.  C.  Krabbe,  Qucestionum 
de  Hos.  Vatic.  Spec.  [A  View  of  Questions  relating  to  the  Proph.  of  Hosea]  (Hamburg  Pro- 
gramme), 1836  ;  A.  Wiinsche,  Der  Proph.  Hosea  iibersetzt  und  erklart  mit  Benutzung  der 
Targumim,  der  jiidischen  Ausleger  Raschi,  Aben  Ezra,  und  D.  Kimchi  [The  Prophet  Hosea. 
translated  and  explained,  with  a  use  of  the  Targum,  and  of  the  works  of  the  Jewish  Ex 
positors,  Raschi,  Aben  Ezra,  and  D.  Kimehi],  Leipzig,  1868.  The  most  complete  of  recent 
times.  The  copious  illustrations  drawn  from  the  Chaldee  Paraphrase,  and  the  three  Jewish 
Commentaries  are  very  valuable.  F.  A.  Lowe,  Biblische  Studien,  Erstes  Heft:  Beitrage  zum 
Verslandniss  des  Propheten  Hoseas  TBiblical  Studies,  Part  First :  Contributions  to  the  Inter- 
pretation of  the  Prophet  Hosea]. 

For  the  Practical  Exposition  :  L.  C  Graf,  Der  Proph.  Hoseas  in  172  Wochen-Predigten 
erklart  [The  Prophet  Hosea  explained  in  172  Weekly  Sermons],  Dresden,  1716;  P.  Die- 
drich,  Die  Propheten  Daniel,  Hosea,  Joel,  Amos,  kurz  erklart  fur  lieilsbegierige,  aufmerksame 
Bibellesen  [The  Prophets  Daniel,  Hosea,  Joel,  Amos,  briefly  explained  for  earnest  and  at- 
tentive Bible-readers].    Leipzig,  1861. 

[The  special  works  in  English  upon  Hosea,  besides  those  of  Burroughs  and  Pococke 
mentioned  in  the  above  list,  are  :  Bishop  Horsley,  Hosea,  translated  from  the  Hebrew  with 
Notes,  Explanatory  and  Critical,  2d  ed.  London,  1804  ;  Rev.  Wm.  Drake,  Notes  on  Hosea, 
Cambridge  (England),  1853.  Dr.  Pusey's  Commentary  upon  Hosea  in  his  Mm.  Proph.  (in 
which  he  has  advanced  as  far  as  Micah),  on  account  of  his  excessive  allegorizing  and  spirit- 
ualizing tendencies,  is  not  uniformly  of  the  highest  critical  or  exegetical  merit,  but  is  worthy 
of  all  praise  for  the  great  value  of  its  practical  remarks.  Bishop  Wordsworth,  who  belongs 
to  the  same  patristic  school,  treats  of  the  Minor  Prophets  in  the  6th  volume  of  his  Com- 
mentary (London,  1872).  —  M.] 


HOSEA. 


SUPERSCRIPTION.     Chapter  I.   1. 

The  word  of  the  Lord  that  came  unto  Hosea,  the  son  of  Beeri,1  in  the  days  of  Uzziah, 
Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judah,  and  in  the  days  of  Jeroboam,  the  son 
of  Joash,  king  of  Israel. 


A. 


PART  FIRST.     Chapters  I.  2-III.  5. 

Chapters  I.  2-U.  3. 

The  Rejection  of  the  Kingdom  of  Israel,  and  especially  of  the  House  of  Jehu,  on 
account  of  their  "  Whoredom,"  is  symbolically  announced.  —  Chap.  i.  2-9. 


2  The  beginning  2  of  the  Word  of  the  Lord  by  Hosea.   And  the  Lord  said  to  Hosea 

[in  the  beginning  when  Jehovah  spoke  with  Hosea,  then  Jehovah  said  to  Hosea  J  :    Go,    take    Unto    thee   a 

wife  of  whoredoms  and  children  of  whoredoms ;  for  the  land  hath  committed  great 

3  whoredom,  departing  from  the  Lord  [Jehovah].     So  he  went  and  took  Gomer  the 

4  daughter  of  Diblaim  ;  which  [and  she]  conceived,  and  bare  him  a  son.  And  the  Lord 
[Jehovah]  said  unto  him,  Call  his  name  Jezreel ;  for  yet  a  little  while,  and  I  will 
avenge  the  blood  of  Jezreel  upon  the  house  of  Jehu,  and  will  cause  to  cease    the 

5  kingdom  of  the  house  of  Israel.     And  it  will  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  I  will 

6  break  the  bow  of  Israel  in  the  valley  of  Jezreel.  And  she  conceived  again,  and 
bare  a  daughter.  And  God  said  unto  him,  Call  her  name  Lo-ruhamah  [unpitied]  ;  • 
for  I  will  no  more  have  mercy  upon  the  house  of  Israel ;  but  I  will  utterly  take  them 

7  away  [that  i  should  keep  on  forgiving  them].  But  I  will  have  mercy  upon  the  house  of 
Judah,  and  will  save  them  by  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  their  God,  and  will  not  save  them 

8  by  bow,  nor  by  sword,  nor  by  battle  [war],  by  horses,  nor  by  horsemen.  Now  when 
she  had  weaned  Lo-ruhamah,  she  conceived,  and  bare  a  son  [And  she  weaned  Lo-Ruhamaa 

3   and  conceived  and  bare  a  son].      Then    said  God,  Call    his    name    Lo-ammi    [Not-my-people],  for 

ye  are  not  my  people,  and  I  will  not  be  your  God  [yours].4 

B.   And  yet  Israel  will  be  again  accepted  by  God 

Chapter  II.    1-3. 

Yet  [And]  the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea, 
which  cannot  be  measured  nor  numbered ;  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  in  the 
place  where  6  it  was  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  not  my  people,  there  it  shall  be  said 


22  HOSEA. 

2  unto  them,  Ye  are  the  sons   of  the  living  God.     Then  shall  the  children  of  Judah 
and  the  children  of  Israel  be  gathered  together,  and  appoint  themselves  one  head ; 

3  and  they  shall  come  up  out  of  the  land :    for  great  is  the  day  of  Jezreel.     Say  to 
your  brethren,  Ammi  [My-peopie],  and  to  your  sisters,  Ruhamah  [compassionated]. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL 

1  [Ver.  1.  —  ^N2  —  explained  by  Gesenius  as  meaning,  fountain  ;  by  FUrst  et  ul. :  one  who  explains,  comp.  Deut. 
I.  6.  If  a  symbolical  meaning  is  sought,  the  latter  is  probably  to  be  preferred  ;  if  not,  the  signification  must  remain 
undecided.     There  seems  to  be  no  necessity  for  holding  a  symbolical  sense.  —  M.] 

2  Ver.  2.  —  ^    n vTIfn.     By  the  construct  state  in  which  the  first  word  stands  the  following  (  "^    ""12"7!   being 

not  an  infinitive  but  a  praeterite),  becomes  a  sort  of  substantive  phrase  subordinate  to  fl  vflH.  u"17nfl  is  thus 
made  equivalent  to  an  adverb  of  time  =  when  at  first  (Ewald).     The  construction  would  thus  be  similar  to  that  of  the 

phrase  >> — 12"^  0^2,  Ex.  vi.  28  ;  1  Sam  xxv.  15  et  al.  See  Ewald,  Gr.,  §  286,  3.  For  the  view  which  regards  the 
first  clause  of' the  verse  as  a  "kind  of  superscription,"  see  the   exposition  and  Green,  Heb.  Gr.,  §  255,   1,  2.  —  M.] 

—  riDTj"!   i~t2T.  according  to  the  familiar  Heb.  emphatic  mode  of  expression,  the   i"T2T   is  here  marked  as  complete. 
v:   •  t' 

3  Ver.  6.  —  i"TOm  is  usually  regarded  as  a  participle  with  72  fallen  away.  But  according  to  Keil  it  is  rather  the 
3  fern,  praet  (in  the  paiisal  form  on  account  of  the  Athnach,  as  in  ii.  3,  25)  =  "she  finds  no  sympathy,  is  not  compassion- 
ated.'' [This  is  a  question  which  must  remain  undecided,  as  the  word  ocr'irs  only  in  pause.  Yet  the  common  view  is 
preferable,  because  (1)  the  part,  is  the  better  form  for  an  appellative,  as  it  approaches  more  nearly  to  a  noun,  and  (2)  if 
the  verb  became  an  appellative  it  would  probably  remain  a  fixed  form,  or  at  least  not  be  subject  to  such  changes  as  the 
3  praet.  undergoes  in  pause      The  part,  would  of  course  retain  the  Kamets  in  any  case.  — M.] 

The  difficult  words  'HT   SE73   ^3    probably  give  a  further  explanation  of  the  QrHS.     St£73  =  to  forgive  :   I  will 

no  longer  have  compassion  on  them  that  I  should  forgive  them  (Meier  :  "2  is  climactic  =  how  much  less  forgive  them). 
The  object:  sin,  is  certainly  then  to  be  supplied  as  also  in  Gen.  xviii.  24.  But,  according  to  the  context,  it  is  easier  to 
supply  this  than  to  translate  with  Hengstenberg :  I  will  take  away  from  them,  namely,  what  they  have,  or  everything 

they  have.  In  chap.  v.  16,  W1273  in  the  sense  of  taking  may  without  difficulty  be  construed  absolutely  But  here, 
especially  with  the  dative,  an  object  is  expected. 

[Pusey,  Henderson,  Cowles,  et  al.  follow  E.  V   in  rendering:  But  I  will  utterly  take  them  away      Newcome :  But  1 

will  surely  take  them  away.  Ewald  agrees  with  Meier  in  the  translation  given  above.  Henderson  admits  that  S273 
followed  by  y  elsewhere  means  to  forgive,  and  that  it  might  have  the  same  sense  here  if  it  were  only  preceded  by  the 

copulative  1,  but  that  "'S  meaning  but  excludes  such  repetition.  Here  it  is  forgotten  that  ^2  may  mark  consecution 
or  result,  as  it  does  frequently,  comp.  Gen.  xl.  15  ;  Is.  xxix.  16  ;  Ps.  viii.  5,  with  many  other  passages.  But  Sciimoller 
as  well  as  Keil,  who  discern  the  true  connection  and  meaning  of  the  words,  have  overlooked  the  occurrence  of  the  inf. 
before  the  future  of  the  same  verb.  AH  the  other  critics  give  to  this  combination  the  force  of  emphasis  or  intensity. 
Is  it  not  better  to  suppose  that  repetition  is  implied,  which  is  the  fundamental  notion  ?  And  if  the  last  clause  is  ex- 
placatory  of  the  preceding,  the  TlJJ  of  the  one  must  find  its  counterpart  in  the  frequentative  construction  of  the 
other  :  I  will  no  longer  have  mercy  on  them  that  I  should  continue  to  forgive  them.  Greater  fullness  of  meaning  and 
appropriateness  is  also  seen  to  mark  this  part  of  the  verse  :  God  had  overlooked  their  sins  often  before,  but  He  would 
not  keep  on  overlooking  them  forever.  — M.] 

4  TVer.  9. —  D3v   rTTTS  S7  :   I  will  not   be  for  vou,  i.  e.,  not  be  yours,  not  beloug  to  vou.     There  is  no  need 

V  T 

of  maintaining  that  "  God  "  is  understood,  as  Henderson,  Cowles,  and  the  English  expositors  generally  do.  The  sense  is 
complete  without  supposing  an  ellipsis.     Houbigant  (followed  by  Newcome)  has  gone  so  far  as  to  transpose  the  letters  ol 

the  last  two  words  into  E3TT7S.     But  this  has  no  support  in  the  MSS.  or  Versions,  and  is  besides  very  improbable, 

not  to  mention  that  it  supposes  the  omission  of  the  latter  J™T.  — M.] 

5  Chap.  II.  1 *"^W  □ip£p2.  We  might  be  inclined  to  render:  in  the  place  of  [its  being  said];  the  usage  of  tha 

expression  elsewhere  is  "however  too  clearly  opposed  (comp.  Lev.  iv.  24-33  ;  xiv.  13 ;  Jer.  xxii.  12  ;  Ezek.  xxi.  35  ;  Neh. 
It.  14).     But  DipX?  with  the  subject  following  is  perhaps  =  instead  of,  in  Is.  xxxiii.  21. 

But  a  further  difficulty  is  felt.     Only  one  king 
EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL.  '  of  Tsraei  js  named,  whom   Hosea  long  survived, 

Ver.  1.  Superscription.  It  has  been  shown  al"  ^d  the  succession  of  Judaic  kings  brings  down 
readv  in  the  Introduction  (§  1 )  that  the  chronolog-  the  life  of  the  prophet  far  beyond  the  fame  of  that 
ical  limits  assigned  in  the  title  must  be  admitted  single  monarch,  Jeroboam  II.  Hence  it  is  alleged 
to  be  essentially  correct.  Difficulties  have  been  that  the  second  part  of  the  superscription  does  not 
suggested  to  the  minds  of  some  from  the  circum-   agree  with  the  first. 

Ptance  that  when  the  duration  of  Hosea's  ministry  Keil  seeks  to  solve  this  difficulty  by  assuirinr 
is  given,  it  is,  in  the  first  line,  placed  in  relation  that  the  Prophet  acknowledged  only  the  legiti- 
to  the  reigns  of  Judah,  and  that  a  king  of  Israel  mate  rulers  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah  as  the  real 
is  mentioned  only  in  the  second  line.  To  argue  kings  of  the  people  of  God;  and  that  he  defined 
from  thk,  however,  that  Hosea  belonged  to  the  ,  the  limits  of  his  ministry  according  to  the  real 
kingdom  of  Judah,  is  inadmissible  ;  for  as  we  saw  succession  of  that  kingdom.  He  introduces  alonu' 
in  the  Introduction,  all  other  evidence  goes  to  with  the  names  of  those  kings,  that  of  the  Israel- 
prove  that  he  was  a  resident  of  the  Northern  King- ;  itish  monarch,  under  whom  he  began  his  prophetic 
iom.  I  course,  not  only  to  indicate  that  occasion   mora 


CHAPTERS   1.  1-11.  3. 


23 


definitely,  but  chiefly  on  account  of  the  significant 
position  occupied  by  Jeroboam  in  the  kingdom  of 
the  Ten  Tribes.  He  was  the  last  king  through 
whom  God  vouchsafed  any  aid  to  that  state.  The 
exceeding  rulers  scarcely  deserved  the  title  of 
king. 

But  this  explanation,  brought  forward  in  order 
to  defend  the  originality  of  the  superscription,  can 
scarcely  be  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  arbitrari- 
ness. (The  precedence  assigned  to  the  Judaic 
kings  would  be  better  explained  on  the  hypothesis 
that  Hosea,  at  a  later  period,  took  up  his  residence 
in  Judah  and  there  composed  his  book.)  Ewald, 
who,  to  be  sure,  does  not  admit  in  its  full  extent 
the  correctness  of  the  chronological  statements  of 
the  superscription,  supposes  that  the  allusion  to 
the  kings  of  Judah  was  added  by  a  later  hand 
(which  also  inserted  Is.  i.  1),  while  the  remainder 
is  the  old  original  superscription,  which,  however, 
he  thinks  belonged  at  first  only  to  chaps,  i.,  ii. 

The  question,  whether  the  superscription  in  its 
present  form  is  quite  original,  must  be  allowed  to 
remain  undecided. 

[As  serving  however  to  defend  the  genuineness  of 
the  superscription,  comp.  with  the  view  of  Keil  ad- 
duced above,  the  following  full  and  forcible  pres- 
entation of  the  probable  design  of  the  prophet  in 
its  insertion  given  by  Hengstenberg  in  his  Chris- 
tology :  "  Hosea  mentions,  first  and  completely, 
the  kings  of  the  legitimate  family.  He  then 
further  adds  the  name  of  one  of  the  rulers  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Israel,  under  whom  his  ministry  be- 
gan, because  it  was  of  importance  to  fix  precisely 
the  time  of  its  commencement.  Uzziah,  the  first 
of  the  series  of  the  kings  of  Judah  mentioned  by 
him,  survived  Jeroboam  nearly  twenty-six  years. 
Now,  had  the  latter  not  been  mentioned  along 
with  him,  the  thought  might  easily  have  suggested 
itself,  that  it  was  only  in  the  latter  period  of  Uz- 
ziah's  reign  that  the  prophet  entered  upon  his 
office;  in  which  case  all  that  he  says  about  the 
overthrow  of  Jeroboam's  family,  would  hai  e  ap- 
peared to  be  a  vaticinium  post  event u in,  inasmuch  as 
it  took  place  very  soon  after  Jeroboam's  death. 
The  same  applies  to  what  is  said  by  him  regarding 
the  total  decay  of  the  kingdom  which  was  so  flour- 
ishing under  Jeroboam  ;  for,  from  the  moment  of 
Jeroboam's  death,  it  hastened  with  rapid  strides  to- 
ward destruction.  If,  therefore,  it  was  to  be  seen 
that  future  things  lie  open  to  God  and  his  servants 
'  before  they  spring  forth  '  (Is.  xlii.  9),  it  was  neces- 
sary that  the  commencement  of  the  Prophet's  min- 
istry should  be  the  more  accurately  determined  ; 
and  this  is  effected  by  the  intimation  that  it  took 
place  within  the  period  of  the  fourteen  years  during 
which  Uzziah  and  Jeroboam  reigned  contemporane- 
ously.1 That  this  is  the  main  reason  for  mention- 
ing Jeroboam's  name  is  seen  from  the  relation  of 
ver.  2  to  ver.  1.  The  remark  made  in  ver.  2,  that 
llosea  received  the  subsequent  revelation  at  the 
very  beginning  of  his  prophetic  ministry,  corre- 
sponds with  the  mention  of  Jeroboam's  name  in 

ver.  1.     But  this  is    not  all There  was  a 

considerable  difference  between  him  and  the  subse- 
quent kings.  Cocceius  remarks  very  strikingly  : 
The  other  kings  of  Israel  are  not  viewed  as  kin^s 
but  as  robbers.'  Jeroboam  possessed  a  quasi  legit- 
imacy. The  house  of  Jehu  to  which  he  belonged, 
had  opposed  the  extreme  of  religious  apostasy. 
It  was  to  a  certain  degree  recognized  even  by  the 

1  [This  will  show  the  groundlessness  of  the  opinion  of 
Noyes,  that  rr  from  the  contents  of  the  book  it  is  probable 
that   he  ti.J   not  exercise  his  office  until   after   the  death  of 


Prophets.  Jeroboam  had  obtained  the  throne  not 
by  usurpation  but  by  birth.  He  was  the  last  kiDg 
by  whom  the  Lord  sent  deliverance  to  the  Ten 
Tribes  ;  comp.  2  Kings  xiv.  27." 

The  English  commentators  hold  to  the  origi- 
nality of  the  superscription,  with  the  exception  of 
Noyes,  who  speaks  of  it  as  "  doubtful."  The  argu- 
ments which  establish  it  are  mainly  these:  (1.) 
The  very  fact  of  its  existence  in  its  present  form 
from  the  earliest  known  period.  (2.)  The  analogy 
of  other  prophetic  books  as  well  as  of  many  other 
portions  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  genuineness  of 
whose  superscriptions  has  never  been  successfully 
impugned  either  by  German  critics  or  their  Eng- 
lish followers.  (3.)  The  improbability  of  any 
other  hypothesis.  Any  "  redactor  "  (Ewald  and 
others)  could  have  had  no  reason  to  insert  such  a 
peculiar  title.  Its  anomalous  character  shows  it 
to  have  been  the  work  of  the  author  himself.  Any 
other  would  either  have  made  no  allusion  to  the 
kings  of  Israel,  or  would  have  given  a  complete 
list  of  the  contemporary  ones.  There  is  a  pur- 
pose manifest  here  which  a  collector  would  not 
have  conceived,  and  which  it  was  beyond  his  prov- 
ince to  convey  to  the  world  by  embodying  it  in 
an  addition  to  his  author's  writings.  (4.)  The 
exact  correspondence  between  the  character  of  the 
superscription,  the  contents  of  the  book,  and  the 
position  of  the  author,  as  partly  shown  above, 
and  as  might  be  further  proved  abundantly. 

The  superscription  therefore  is  original,  and 
original  in  its  present  form.  As  to  the  place  of 
its  composition  there  is  no  improbability  in  the 
opinion,  mentioned  by  Schmoller  above,  that  with 
the  rest  of  the  book  it  was  composed  in  Judah. 
But  this  cannot  explain,  as  he  supposes,  the  anom- 
alies of  the  superscription.  It  only  increases  tha 
difficulties.  Why  was  an  Israelitish  king  men 
tioned  at  all  ?  This  question  remains  unanswered 
while  the  old  difficulty  of  the  non-allusion  to  suc- 
ceeding kings  of  Israel  remains  in  all  its  force. 
The  true  solution  must  therefore  be  sought  not  in 
any  local  conditions  of  the  Prophet,  but  in  his 
necessary  relations  as  a  Prophet  of  God  to  the 
two  kingdoms,  as  determined  by  their  respective 
characters,  and  in  his  desire  to  assign  definitely 
the  limits  of  his  ministry.  —  M.] 

A.  Vers.  2-9.  The  Prophet  announces  symbol 
ical.li/  to  the  Kingdom  of  Israel  that  it  will  be  rejected 
on  account  of  its  Whoredom." 

Vers.  2,  3.  In  the  beginning  of  Jehovah's 
speaking  with  Hos«a  .  .  and  bare  him  a  son  — 

3?ti?1n2,  literally,  in  Hosea,  that  is,  into  Hosea. 
The  simple  translation  in,  as  expressive  of  an 
inner  revelation  which  he  received,  is  excluded 
even  by  the  usage  of  the  language  (comp.  Zech. 
i.  9,  14) ;  as  also  is  the  explanation  :  by  Hosea. 
This  "  into,"  however,  must  not  be  modified  into 

simple  "  to  him."  This  would  have  been  —  ?^.  ? 
evidently  expresses  here  a  closer,  personal  relation 
into  which  the  speaker  enters  with  another  person, 

while  7S,  "  to,"  merely  indicates  the  direction 
of  the  discourse.  It  therefore  betokens  an  energy 
of  speaking,  probably  also  in  connection  with  a 
certain  continuity  ;  answering  best  to  our  "  speak- 
ing with  "  (comp.  besides  the  passages  cited  above, 
also   Num.  xii.  6,  8;     Hab.  ii.   1).      The  whole 

clause,   nZTflvriri,  could  be  regarded  as  a  kind 

Jeroboam,  when  the  kingdom  of  Israel  was  m  a  state  oi 
great  distraction  and  anarchy.''  —  J    F    M-l 


24 


HOSEA. 


of  superscription  =  The  beginning  of  that  which 
Jehovah  spoke  with  Hosea.     The  discourse  would 

.hen  bei,pin  with  ~>ttSs1.  But  it  is  preferable  to 
attach  the  whole  clause,  as  a  specification  of  time, 
to  the  following  n^sl,  and  to  take  ribf!^, 
which  is  therefore  =  in  the  beginning,  as  an  accu- 
sative of  time:  In  the  beginning,  when  Jehovah 
spoke.  The  sense  would  be:  When  Jehovah  be- 
gan to  speak  with  Hosea,  then,  etc.  [For  the  in- 
ternal structure  of  the  clause,  see  the  first  Gram- 
matical Note. — J.  F.  M.]  This  means  that  God 
has  begun  his  revelation  to  the  Prophet  with  the 
command  immediately  following;  in  other  words, 
that  the  prophet  must  enter  upon  active  duty 
with  the  following  testimony  against  the  spiritual 
adultery  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel :  Go  take  to 
thee  a  wile  of  whoredom  and  children  of  whore- 
dom. "  Wife  of  whoredom  : "  E^^T  occurs  only 
in  the  plural,  expressing  a  plurality  of  acts.  — 
f  j"UyS,  a  woman  whose  element  is  whoredom, 

with  whom  the  H3T  is  a  thing  not  merely  inci- 
dental. From  this  designation,  as  applied  to  the 
woman  it  is  evident  that  it  was  just  in  her  mar- 
riage with  the  prophet  that  she  would  show  her- 
self to  he  an  1  nt£?S,  and  would  thereby  become 
an  adulteress  (though  naturally  this  does  not  ex- 
clude the  idea  that  the  Prophet  begets  children  by 
her).  The  truth  to  be  represented  demands  this 
view  of  the  case.  For  it  is  Israel  married  to  Jeho- 
vah that  commits  whoredom. 

But  who  are  the  2\  "•T?-  ?  "  Children  "  men- 
tioned along  with  the  "  wife,"  naturally  make  the 
latter  appear  to  be  the  mother.  But  they  cannot 
be  called  children  of  whoredom  simply  for  the  rea- 
son that  their  mother  is  an  T  HE'S.  They  can 
have  that  designation  only  because  they  themselves 
stand  essentially  connected  with  E^jT.  But  in 
what  relation  ?  It  is  readily  suggested  :  "  they  are 
related  to  it  as  its  results  =  they  are  the  fruit  of 

the  E^ST,  of  the  mother,  are  born  of  the  mother 
in  consequence  of  her  unchastity,  are  of  illegiti- 
mate birth."  But,  according  to  this  explanation, 
the  genitive  would  have  a  sense  different  from  that 
which  it  has  in  the  former  connection,  and  this 
creates  a  difficulty.  If  a  woman,  who  practices 
lewdness  and  is  in  fact  wholly  given  up  to  it,   is 

called  1  0^?^.'  ^  *s  most  natural  to  assume  that 
the  construction  exactly  similar  and  immediately 
following  should  be  understood  in  like  manner  to 

express  action  and  disposition.  E^D^?  ''"H  ■?- 
therefore  =  children  who  act  and  are  disposed  like 
their  mother,  children  of  the  same  character  as 
their  mother.  And  this  must  be  admitted  to  be  the 
correct  explanation  when  it  is  remembered  what  is 
to  be  represented  by  the  woman  and  her  children, 
namely,  Israel  conceived  of  as  the  mother  of  a 
people,  and  its  children.  And  the  fact  which  is  to 
be  established  with  regard  to  Israel  and  its  children 
is,  that  they  all  practice  whoredom;    comp.  the 

explar  itory  clause,  V?^"7  r,5Tj"?">'?-  It  is  not 
said  that  the  children  are  of  adulterous  origin,  but 
that  the  whole  people  —  the  people  as  a  whole  and 
in  their  individual  members,  or,  according  to  the 
Hebrew  personifying  mode  of  conception,  the 
mother  and  her  children,  commit  lewdness.    "  Go, 

take  to  thee : "  HtTS  nj2  ?  is,  according  to  the 


constant  Hebrew  usage,  equivalent  to  our  phrase, 
"  to  take  a  wife,"  i.  e.,  to  take  a  woman  to   >e  a 

wife,  to  marry.  And  njv*T  (ver.  3),  which  ex- 
presses the  fulfillment  of  the  command  given  with 
i~\p,  has  certainly  no  other  sense.  In  our  verse, 
another   object,   still,  E^jt  \~w^,  is  joined  ta 

npv.  This  is  done  by  zeugma,  in  the  sense  :  ^lc- 
cipe  tibi  uxorem  et  suscipe  ex  ea  Jilios  scortationum. 
He  is,  accordingly,  to  ally  himself  with  an  un- 
chaste wife,  and  the  children  which  he  begets  with 
her  are  to  be  like  their  mother.  This  is  just  the 
position  of  Israel.  Israel,  Jehovah's  spouse,  com- 
mitted lewdness,  and  the  children,  who  belonged 
both  to  Jehovah  and  to  her,  acted  just  as  their 
mother  did.  Wife  and  children  grieved  equally 
the  Husband  and  Father.  The  reference  here  is 
therefore  not  to  children  which  the  woman  is  sup- 
posed to  have  had  before  her  marriage  with  the 
Prophet.  The  force  of  the  painful  experience  of 
grief  over  his  own  children,  through  which  the- 
Prophet  was  to  pass,  would  then  be  lost.  By  these 
children  of  whoredom  we  are  not  to  understand 
directly  just  the  three  children  mentioned  after- 
wards, for  the  expression  is  a  general  one,  but  they 
do  certainly  fall  under  this  category,  and  it  is  only 
they  who  are  named. 

The  command  which  the  Prophet  receives  ia 
supported  by  the  words :  for  the  whole  land  is 
whoring,  whoring  away  from  Jehovah  (tailing 

away  from  Jehovah).  i"1^  :  evidently  a  meta- 
phorical expression  here  designating  apostasy 
from  Jehovah  to  idolatry,  according  to  the  con- 
ception of  Israel's  relation  to  Jehovah  as  that 
of  a  marriage.  He  who  serves  idols  accordingly 
commits  whoredom  and  breaks  the  marriage  vow, 
is  unfaithful  to  a  lawful  spouse,  because  surren- 
dering himself  to  a  stranger,  with  whom  no  mar- 
riage relation  can  exist.  This  notion  of  infidel- 
ity is  further  indicated  expressly  by  the  addition  : 

^  "^nSO.    ^DSQ   is  a  significant   composite 

preposition,  which  expresses  not  merely  absence 
from  Jehovah,  but  conveys  the  notion  that  a  rela- 
tion, the  direct  opposite  of  ^  ^QS  "?77*7,  has 
been  entered  into,  and  therefore  expresses  forcibly 
a  position   of  infidelity,  of  a   discontinuance  of 

fidelity.     On    this   notion   of  H2*    in    a  spiritual 

sense,  see  the  Doctrinal  Section.     As  •"IStF!   H^T 

expressed  the  intensity  of  the  apostasy,  so  y.T^V* 
expresses  forcibly  its  extent.  As  the  sequel  shows, 
it  is  the  inhabitants  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
who  are  meant.  This  whole  sentence  gives  the 
ground  of  the  command  which  the  Prophet  re- 
ceives to  take  a  wife  of  whoredom.  He  is  to  tako 
a  wife  who  commits  bodily  unchastity  because  the 
whole  land  commits  whoredom  spiritually.  Why' 
The  most  natural  answer  is  :  In  order  to  hold  up 
to  the  people  a  mirror  in  which  they  might  behold 
their  guilt,  and  thus  to  bring  to  their  consciousness 
more  surely  and  powerfully  than  could  be  done  by 
mere  didactic  discourse,  how  greatly  they,  by  theif 
idolatry,  had  sinned  against  their  God,  and  dishon- 
ored Him.  God  would  thus  be  represented  _  as 
standing  in  a  position  which  would  hardly  be  im- 
puted to  a  man,  namely,  that  of  living  in  marriage 
with  a  woman  given  up  to  adultery  ;  or  that  such 
a  relation  would  be  as  dishonoring  to  God  as  mar 
riage  with  a  whorish  woman  would  be  to  a  prophet. 
But  the  taking  of  this  wife  had,  besides,  the  exprew  I 


CHAPTERS  I.  l-II.  3. 


25 


purpose  of  begetting  children  with  her,  who  by 
their  names  should  annonnce  to  Israel  the  punish- 
ment incurred  by  its  guilt.  For  to  the  people  (rep- 
resented by  the  woman  and  her  3T  "*7. 71)  was  to 
be  presented  the  consequence  of  their  whoredom, 
and  it  was  to  be  brought  to  their  consciousness 
what  punishments  their  rightful  husband,  Jehovah, 
would  inflict  as  the  consequences  of  their  infidelity. 

The  children,  as  3T  *Hvl)  represent  the  children 
of  Israel  in  their  guilt,  but,  at  the  same  time,  by 
their  names,  the  punishment  thereby  entailed,  and 
as  those  names,  significant  of  punishment,  are  af- 
fixed to  those  who  represent  the  guilt,  the  fact  is 
expressed  that  the  punishment  is  directly  conse- 
quent upon  the  guilt. 

It  is  clearly  incorrect  to  lay  stress  upon  ^T  TTtf? 
and  the  alliance  of  the  Prophet  with  the  woman, 
by  itself  considered,  and  so  give  to  the  thought  a 
positive  turn  :  that,  by  the  Prophet's  marriage 
with  a  lewd  woman,  and  by  the  announcement  of 
its  results  and  by  the  names  of  the  children,  it  was 
intended  to  be  illustrated  how  Jehovah  entered 
into  a  marriage  with  the  faithless  nation  of  Israel 
through  Hosea,  and  that  the  children  and  the  con- 
sequences of  such  marriage  would  represent  severe 
chastisements  from  the  hand  of  love  (Lowe).  This 
notion  is  imported  into  the  sentence.  In  so  far  as 
it  is  correct,  it  belongs  to  chap.  iii.  and  not  here. 
But  of  an  alliance  being  entered  into  between  Je- 
hovah and  the  disloyal  people,  there  is  nothing 
said  even  there,  simply  because  Jehovah  had,  on 
his  part,  entered  into  such  a  marriage  with  the 
people  long  before.  To  infer  from  the  fact  of  the 
Prophet's  marriage  that  God  entered  into  the  same 
alliance  would  be  a  false  application  of  the  image. 
The  Prophet  cannot  be  conceived  of  as  standing 
already  in  that  relation.  He  must  contract  this 
marriage  in  order  to  symbolize  Jehovah's  marriage 
with  the  people  already  existing.  It  would  be  just 
as  baseless,  however,  to  infer  from  this  marriage 
contracted  by  Hosea  with  the  woman,  that  the 
original  covenant  between  God  and  his  people  at 
Sinai  is  to  be  represented ;  that  God  had  concluded 
the  alliance  with  the  people  as  with  a  pure  virgin, 
and  that  they  became  unchaste  after  they  came 

under  the  covenant ;  that  therefore  also  ^T  '""^'^ 
is  not  a  woman  who  has  already  practiced  lewd- 
ness, but  that  an  underiled  virgin  is  to  be  under- 
stood, of  whom,  however,  it  was  foreseen  that  she 
would  become  unfaithful  and  bear  children  of  adul- 
tery.    Apart  from  the  emphasis  placed  upon  the 

words  2T  HITS,  this  view  is  seen  to  stand  in  di- 
rect contradiction  to  the  causal  sentence:  "for  the 
land,"  etc.  Because  the  land  commits  whoredom 
must  the  prophet  take  a  maiden  who  will  become 
anchaste ''  No.  "  The  marriage  which  the  prophet 
was  to  contract  was  simply  intended  to  symbolize 
the  relation  already  existing  between  Jehovah  and 
Israel,  and  not  the  way  in  which  it  had  come  into 
existence.  The  wife  does  not  represent  the  nation 
of  Israel  in  its  virgin  state,  when  the  covenant  was 
being  concluded  at  Siuai,  but  the  nation  of  the 
Ten  Tribes  in  its  relation  to  Jehovah  at  the  period 
of  the  prophet,  when  that  kingdom,  considered  as 
a  whole,  had  become  a  wife  of  whoredom,  and  in 
Us  several  members  resembled  children  of  whore- 
iom."     (Keil.) 

Ver.  3.  Took  Gomer,  a  daughter  of  Diblaim. 
The  command  is  obeyed  without  delay.  ~W3  oc- 
curs elsewhere  only  as  the  name  of  a  nation  :  Gen. 


x.  2,  3  ;  Ezek.  xxxviii.  6.  If  the  name  be  taken 
here  symbolically,  the  derivation  from  *~IM  might 
afford  the  signification,  "  completon,"(".  e.,  not  an 
nihilation,  utter  ruin  ;  but,  completion  of  whore- 
dom =  completed  whoredom  (so  already  Aben  Ez- 
ra, Jerome).  According  to  Fiirst  it  is  also  possible 
to  explain,  "  fire-glow,"  literally,  a  being  consumed 

with  passion.  CO^T  occurs  only  as  a  proper 
name.  In  attempts  to  interpret  it,  it  is  usually 
explained  as  =  l^?^,  fig-cakes  (so  already  Je- 
rome), iu  which  an  aliusion  is  perceived  to  chap, 
iii.  ver.  1,  where  raisin-cakes  appear  as  an  image 
of  that  idolatry  which  ministers  to  sensuality. 
"  Daughter  of  fig-cakes  "  would  then  =  loving  fig- 
cakes,  or  more  generally,  deliciis  dedita.  The  iden- 
tification of  D"]?^!  and  D^bin  has   its  difficul 

ties,  however.  Fiirst  supposes  that  the  root  v2*T, 
besides  the  sense,  press  together,  from  which  we 

have  H 75^.5  fig-cake,  has  also  the  signification, 
enclose,  and  thus  gains  the  meaning,  embracing 
(strictly,  as  in  the  dual  form  :  double-embracing, 
copulation),  therefore :  daughter  of  embracuo. 
And  this  would  naturally  mean,  not  the  fruit  of 
such  embraces,  but  (as  in  the  other  explanation, 
expressing  a  connection  or  intercourse),  aban- 
doned to  embraces,  complexibus  dedita.  The  inter- 
pretation of  these  names  is  accordingly  attended 
with  difficulties.  For  we  cannot  say  that  iu  them- 
selves they  necessarily  demand  such  an  explana- 
tion, at  least  so  far  as  our  knowledge  of  the  He- 
brew language  permits  us  to  judge.  But  it  can- 
not be  adduced  against  the  admissibility  of  such 
interpretation  that  the  names  are  not  elucidated 
for  us  as  are  those  in  vers.  4  ff.  "  This  may  be 
simply  explained  from  the  circumstance  that  the 
name  was  not  given  to  the  woman,  but  that  she 
had  it  already  when  the  prophet  married  her " 
(Keil).  If  the  names  have  really  these  meanings, 
it  is  clear  that  a  woman  designated,  "  consummata 
in  scortatione,  complexibus  dedita,''  would  be  a  strik- 
ing picture  of  Israel,  uttering  a  severe  rebuke. 

[Henderson,  holding  the  literal  interpretation  of 
the  narrative,  maintains  that  there  is  no  need  of 
assuming  any  symbolical  meaning  whatever  for 
these  names.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  narrative 
be  not  the  record  of  actual  occurrences,  the  neces- 
sity of  a  symbolical  interpretation  of  the  names  is 
manifest.  Most  of  the  English  expositors  who 
note  the  names  show  a  general  agreement  with  the 
explanations  :  completed  whoredom,  and  :  given 
up  to  dainties. — J.  F.  M.] 

And  she  conceived  and  bore  to  him  a  son.  The 
taking  of  the  wife  had  evidently  in  view  the  birth 
of  children.  That  the  woman  conceived  by  the 
prophet,  and  that  the  son  is  to  be  regarded  as  his, 
is  clear  even  from  the  simple  connection  of  the 
words,  but  is  placed  beyond  question  by  the  ex 
press  addition  :  bore  to  him.  The  opinion  that  the 
children  were  illegitimate,  has  arisen  only  from  the 
false  assumption,  at  variance  with  the  context,  that 
the  woman  must  have  formerly  been  a  virgin  ;  foi 

the  designation,  ?  HU7N,  must  then  be  justified, 
and  if  she  were  not  such  before  marriage,  she  must 
have  become  unchaste  after  it. 

Vers.  4,  5.  Then  the  .Lord  said  to  him:  Call 
his  name  Jezreel  —  in  the  valley  of  Jezreel 
The  names  of  the  children  were  to  be  significant, 
in  view  of  the  announcement  of  punishment,  and 
must  therefore  be  determined  by  God.  That  of  the 
first   child  was  to  be  Jeireel.     This  was   to   th« 


26 


HOSKA. 


house  of  Jch  j  a  nomen  cum  omine,  on  account  of 
the  significant  connection  of  the  "  plain  of  Jezreel " 
with  that  family.  It  should  remind  them  of  that 
place  and  of  that  which  occurred  there.  It  cried 
out  to  them  according  to  the  meaning  of  the  word, 
'God  will  disperse,"  and  thus  threatened  pun- 
ishment for  what  was  there  transacted  ;  and  also, 
according  to  what  follows,  presented  to  their  (ears 
the  "  plain  of  Jezreel  "  as  the  place  where  the  pun- 
ishment should  be  inflicted.  Blood-guiltiness  of 
Jezreel.  Jehu  had,  by  one  fearful  massacre,  exter- 
minated the  whole  house  of  Ahab  in  the  city  of 
Jezreel  (2  Kings  ix.  30;  x.  17).  This  city  was 
situated  in  the  plain  of  Jezreel,  which  lay  in  the 
well-known  Valley  of  Kishon.  Now  there  appears 
this  difficulty  :  Jehu  did  this  at  the  express  com- 
mand of  God  through  Elisha  (2  Kings  ix.  1  if.), 
and  the  deed  was  afterwards  commended  by  God 
(x.  30),  and  yet  it  is  to  be  avenged  as  murder  upon 
Jehu's  house.  It  might  be  said  that  in  the  mind 
of  the  author  of  the  books  of  the  Kings,  and  in 
that  of  the  prophet,  there  were  different  views  with 
regard  to  the  violent  overthrow  of  Ahab's  house. 
But  the  prophet  also  could  regard  the  overthrow 
of  a  family  like  that  of  Ahab  only  as  a  merited 
judgment  of  God,  and  hold  the  same  view  with 
reference  to  the  extension  of  the  massacre  to  Ahaz- 
iah  of  Judah  and  his  brethren,  by  reason  of  their 
connection  with  the  house  of  Ahab.  The  correct 
solution  may  be  seen  in  the  words  of  Keil :  "  The 
apparent  contradiction  is  resolved  simply  by  dis- 
tinguishing between  the  act  itself  and  the  motive 
by  which  Jehu  was  instigated.  Regarded  in  itself, 
as  a  fulfillment  of  the  command  of  God,  the  exter- 
mination of  Ahub's  family  was  an  act  for  which 
Jehu  could  not  be  held  criminal."  But  the  motive 
which  actuated  Jehu  was  not  at  all  the  desire  to 
fulfill  the  will  of  the  Lord  ;  for,  even  if  he  did  not 
u »e  the  command  of  God  as  a  cover  for  his  own 
s>  lfish  and  ambitious  feelings,  he  did  yet  in  no  way 
enter  into  the  intention  of  the  Divine  injunction. 
God  desired  that  the  kingdom  of  Israel  should  be 
cleansed  from  idolatry  by  the  extermination  of  the 
house  of  Ahab  and  the  elevation  of  a  new  dynasty. 
In  that  purpose  lay  the  justification  of  the  deed, 
which  was  to  be  simply  a  judgment  of  God  upon 
idolatry.  But  Jehu,  though  ceasing  from  the  wor- 
ship of  Baal,  retained  the  worship  of  the  calves. 
He  fulfilled  God's  command  indeed,  but  only  went 
half  way.  After  he  had  gained  the  throne,  to 
which  God  had  destined  him,  he  struck  out  for 
himself  a  false  path,  from  a  false  policy  in  which 
he  thought  it  advisable  to  retain  the  worship  of  the 
calves,  and  thus  rendered  God's  intentions  nuga- 
tory. Thus  was  the  bloody  deed  of  Jehu  divested 
of  all  real  value,  and  thus  it  entailed  a  burden  of 
guilt  upon  him  and  his  house  (wherefore  also 
the  possession  of  the  throne  was  promised  to  him 
only  to  the  fourth  generation).  This  section  of 
the  book  shows  directly  that  the  idolatry  counte- 
nanced by  Jehu  and  his  house  is  to  be  brought 
into  connection  with  his  deed  as  an  act  of  blood- 
guiltiness,  for"  the  \s  boring  ofthe  land"  is  expressly 
designated  as  the  sin  to  be  punished  (ver.  2).  Such 
apostasy  from  Jehovah  (this  is  the  first  announce- 
ment), is  to  be  punished  by  the  way  in  which  the 
deed  of  blood  in  Israel  is  regarded  and  avenged  as 
a  sinful  act  of  blood-guiltiness.  The  ground  of  the 
resentment  toward-  that  act  therefore  does  not  lie 
in  the  deed  itself,  but  the  punishment  is  inflicted 
for  something  else  without  which  it  would  not  have 
been  incurred.  The  objection  therefore  is  not  just 
which  maintains  that  this  deed  cannot  be  the 
croN-nini:    crime   of  Jehu  and   his  house.     Nor  |> 


there  any  discrepancy  between  the  prophet  ami  th« 
books  of  the  Kings,  where  all  the  members  of  that 
house  are  adduced  as  guilty  by  not  departing  from 
the  sin  of  Jerusalem.  [Pusey  :  "Jehu,  by  cleaving 
against  the  will  of  God  to  Jeroboam's  sin,  which 
served  his  own  political  ends,  showed  that  in  the 
slaughter  of  bis  master  he  acted  not  as  he  pre- 
tended, out  of  zeal  (2  Kings  x.  16)  for  the  will  of 
God,  but  served  his  own  will  and  his  own  ambition 
only.  By  his  disobedience  to  the  one  command  oi 
God  he  showed  that  he  would  equally  have  dis 
obeyed  the  other,  had  it  been  contrary  to  his  own 
will  or  interest.  Me  had  no  principle  of  obedience. 
And  so  the  blood  which  was  shed  according  to  the 
righteous  judgment  of  God,  became  sin  to  him  who 
shed  ic  in  order  to  fulfill  not  the  will  of  God  but 
his  own.  Thus  God  said  to  Baasha : '  I  exalted  thee 
out  of  the  dust  and  made  thee  prince  over  my 
people  Israel,'  which  he  became  by  slaying  his 
master  the  son  of  Jeroboam  and  all  the  house  of 
Jeroboam  (1  Kings  xvi.  2).  Yet  because  he  fol- 
lowed the  sins  of  Jeroboam,  '  the  word  of  the  Lord 
came  against  Baasha  for  all  the  evil  that  he  did  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord  in  being  like  the  house  of 
Jeroboam,  and  because  he  killed  him'  (ver.  7).  Th» 
two  courses  of  action  were  inconsistent :  to  de- 
stroy the  son  and  the  house  of  Jeroboam,  and  to 
do  those  tilings  for  which  God  condemned  hi  in  to 
be  destroyed.  Further  yet ;  not  only  was  such  ex- 
ecution of  God's  j  udgments  itself  an  offense  against 
Almighty  God,  but  it  was  sin,  whereby  he  con- 
demned himself,  and  made  his  other  sins  to  be  sins 
against  the  light.  In  executing  the  judgment  of 
God  against  another,  he  pronounced  his  judgment 
against  himself,  in  that  he  that  judged,  in  God's 
stead,  did  the  same  things  (Rom.  ii.  1 )."    M.J 

"Will  visit :  alluding  to  extermination  which 
corresponds  to  the  act  of  Jehu.  It  followed  not 
long  after  the  death  of  Jeroboam  II.  in  the  mur- 
der of  his  son  through  the  conspiracy  of  Shallum 
(2  Kings  xv.  8  ff.).  But  the  threatening  goes 
further  :  will  utterly  destroy  the  kingdom  of  th( 
house  of  Israel.  "  House  of  Israel "  here  designate.' 
the  kingdom  of  Israel  in  a  special  sense,  the  king 
dom  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  as  distinguished  from  the 
house  of  Jehu  (ver  7).  The  kingly  office  in  gen 
oral  should  cease  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  am 
that  would  naturally  be  a  cessation  of  the  king- 
dom itself.  But  this  was  connected  with  the  fa'J 
of  the  house  of  Jehu,  because,  in  consequence  of 
that  event,  a  state  of  the  wildest  anarchy  ensued, 
so  that  only  one  king,  Menahem,  had  a  son  for 
successor,  the  rest  being  all  overthrown  and  slain 
by  conspirators.  The  fall  of  that  house  was  there- 
fore "  the  beginning  of  the  end,  the  beginning  of 
the  process  of  rejection  "  (Hengstenberg). 

Ver.  5.  And  it  happens  in  that  day,  that  I 
break  the  bow  of  Israel  in  the  valley  of  Jez- 
reel. "  That  day  "  is  the  day  on  which  the  de- 
struction of  the  kingdom  takes  place.  "  Bow  of 
Israel  "  "  by  synecdoche  for  the  military  force  on 
which  the  strength  of  the  kingdom  and  conse- 
quently its  existence  rested  "  (Keil).  The  valley 
of  Jezreel  is  the  plain  in  which  the  city  Jezreel 
lay,  in  the  Apocrypha  and  Josephus :  ih  ueya 
irtSiov  EffSpalKwv,  or  simply  :  rb  fxtya  ireS'iov. 
There  the  threat  was  to  be  fulfilled,  because  it  waa 
there  that  the  bloody  deed  was  committed.  It  was, 
moreover,  the  natural  battle-field  of  the  northern 
kingdom  (comp.  Judges  iv  5 ;  vi.  33).  Israel 
forms  here  an  unmistakable  paronomasia  with 
Jezreel.  The  words,  and  especially  also  the  men- 
tion of  a  locality,  point  clearly  to  a  battle,  l^nj 
an  overthrow,  by  which  the  before-named  destruc 


CHAP1ERS   I.   I— II.  3. 


27 


jon  of  the  kingdom  should  be  effected,  and  thus 
,n  this  sentence  not  only  is  the  punishment  indi- 
cated, but  the  mode  of  its  infliction  stated.  The 
enemy  who  should  effect  this  annihilation  of  the 
kingdom  is  not  yet  indicated.  No  definite  enemy 
is  named  before  the  second  part  of  the  book  where 
Assyria  is  brought  forward.  (It  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  books  ot  the  Kings  where  Assyria  dealt  this 
blow. ) 

Vers.  6,  7.  And  she  conceived,  again  and 
bore  a  daughter,  —  by  horses  and  riders.  The 
second  child  is  a  daughter  who  receives  the  sym- 
bolical name:  ^£7?  ^b  [Sec  Gram.  Note]. 
That  the  second  child  should  be  a  daughter  is  not 
a  voucher  for  the  necessity  of  the  literal  view,  but 
is  grounded  in  the  inner  connection  between  the 
female  sex  and  compassion.  The  announcement 
that  there  was  no  more  compassion,  becomes  so 
much  the  more  emphatic  as  the  representative  of 
the  nation  which  was  not  to  find  compassion  was 
a  daughter.  For  the  "  female  sex  finds  more  com- 
passion than  the  male,"  and  yet  there  is  no  com- 
passion to  be  found.  That  must  be  a  sad  case 
indeed  !  The  explanation  is  incorrect  which  sup- 
poses that  the  daughter  signifies  a  more  degener- 
ate race  (e.  g.,  Jerome).  For  I  will  no  longer 
have  any  compassion.  An  explanation,  telling 
what  the  name  of  the  daughter  implies,  namely, 
the  exhaustion  of  Divine  compassion.  The  king- 
dom owed  its  preservation  in  the  midst  of  the  pre- 
vailing idolatry  only  to  the  undeserved  compas- 
sion of  God.  [On  the  rest  of  ver.  6,  see  Grain. 
Note.] 

Ver.  7.  But  I  will  have  compassion  on  the 
house  of  Judah.  A  keen  reproach  for  the  house 
of  Israel ;  if  they  were  like  the  house  of  Judah, 
they  too  would  find  compassion  ;  but  they  are  not 
so ;  they  live  only  by  the  compassion  of  Jehovah  as 
is  plain  from  the  words.  Why  Judah  finds  favor, 
and  Israel  does  not,  is  indicated  in  the  words 
that  follow,  in  the  peculiarly  emphatic  expression  : 
I  will  deliver  them  through  Jehovah  their  God 
(comp.  Gen.  xix.  24).  Here  allusion  is  made  to 
the  connection  in  which  Judah  stands  with  Jeho- 
vah, while  it  contains,  at  least  by  implication,  the 
thought  that  Judah  owes  its  deliverance  directly 
to  the  fact  that  it  acknowledges  Jehovah  to  be  it's 
God,  and  not,  as  is  further  said,  to  its  military 
force,  while  Israel  on  the  contrary,  trusting  in  its 
military  strength  instead  of  in  Jehovah  who  is  its 
God  no  longer,  shall  for  that  very  reason,  and  in 
spite  of  its  warlike  resources,  utterly  perish.  By 
war  is  an  unexpected  expression  as  occurring 
along  with  the  other  words;  but  it  naturally 
means  not :  by  weapons  of  war,  but  obviously  : 
by  waging  war.  The  bow  and  the  sword  are 
named  as  the  weapons,  and  the  words :  by  war, 
show  more  definitely  that  the  employment  of  those 
weapons  is  meant.  Horses  and  riders,  accord- 
ing to  a  familiar  mode  of  expression,  indicate  the 
force  which  completed  the  military  strength  in 
which  so  much  pride  was  taken.  The  occurrence 
of  these  words  at  the  close  is  specially  emphatic. 
When  Jehovah  delivers,  He  needs  no  weapons  of 
var,  no  horses  or  riders,  nor  can  these  give  any 
nelp  without  Him. 

Vers.  8,  9.  And  she  weaned  Lo-B.uhamah, 
will  not  be  yours.  The  weaning  and  the  con- 
teption  are  to  be  taken  together,  that  is,  as  soon 
as  she  had  weaned,  she  again  conceived,  in  order 
to  indicate  the  continuity  of  the  announcement  of 
tvil.  There  is  no  interruption  until  the  end  of 
he  'ejection.     [Henderson:    "  The  mention  of  the 


weaning  of  Lo-Ruhamah  seems  designed  rather  tc 
till  up  the  narrative  than  to  describe  figuratively 
any  distinct  treatment  of  the  Israelites."  J.  F. 
M.J.  Not  my  people  :  thus  should  the  people  in 
the  kingdom  of  Israel  be  designated.  The  coven- 
ant relation  between  God   and  his  people  is  to  be 

completely  dissolved.  Dp^  nVTS"-^b  =  I  will 
not  belong  to  you  [see  Gramm.  Note].  On  the 
relation  of  the  three  threatenings  to  one  another, 
see  the  Doctrinal  Section  (2).  On  the  whole  nar- 
rative see  In  trod.  §  3. 

B.  Chap.  ii.  1-3.  And  ytt  Israel  shall  be  accepted 
again. 

Immediately  upon  the  announcement  of  the 
judgment  extending  even  to  the  complete  rejec- 
tion of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  follows,  to  the  sur- 
prise of  the  reader,  an  announcement  of  deliver- 
ance. The  verses,  in  distinction  from  the  Hebrew 
arrangement,  should  form  one  section  with  chap, 
i.  The  arrangement  by  which  vers.  1  and  2  are 
joined  to  chap,  i.,  and  a  new  chapter  begun  with 
ver.  3,  as  is  done  by  the  LXX.  and  Jerome,  and 
after  them  by  Luther,  is  more  incorrect  still. 

Chap.  ii.  1.  And  the  number  of  the  children 
of  Israel  shall  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  — 
children  of  the  living  God.  The  promise  in  ver. 
1  a,  agrees  almost  verbatim  with  the  promise  of 
Gen.  xxii.  17  and  xxxii.  13,  an  agreement  which 
is  designed.  The  rejection  of  the  Ten  Tribes  just 
announced  forms  a  strong  contrast  to  the  promise 
there  made  to  the  patriarch  with  regard  to  the 
boundless  increase  of  his  posterity.  Now  if  the 
promise  is  firmly  believed  one  might  have  doubts 
of  the  rejection,  or  if  the  threatening  of  the 
Prophet  were  to  be  accepted  one  might  feel  that  he 
had  mistaken  the  promise.  Hence  the  Prophet  goes 
back  directly  to  that  promise,  and  shows  how  the 
promise  is  in  no  way  annulled  by  the  threatening, 
but  that  the  latter  agrees  well  with  the  former, 
which  will  certainly  reach  its  fulfillment.  (Comp. 
also  the  reference  to  that  promise  in  Is.  x.  22,  in 
opposition  to  false  security,  and  in  Jer.  xxxiii. 
22).  The  promise  given  to  the  fathers  is  just  the 
pledge  that  a  time  of  deliverance  will  come  again  ! 
The  announcement  of  deliverance  in  ver.  1  tf.  is 
rooted  in  that  promise.  Thus  the  words  are 
strictly   to  be  regarded    as   a  citation  =  and   yet 

what  was  promised  will  come  true,  that,  etc.,  "'?.? 
^IrOti^  is  therefore  naturally  to  be  understood  of 
the  people  of  Israel  generally  (against  Keil).  For 
the  promise  is  made  with  reference  to  the  whole 
people,  and  in  ver.  2  mention  is  made  expressly 
of  a  union  between  those  who  had  been  divided. 
But  that  enlargement  of  the  whole  body  cannot 
take  place  with  the  return  of  those  whose  rejec- 
tion is  now  announced.  Hence  the  second  mem- 
ber of  the  verse  turns  to  them.  For  those  who 
are  here  called  "  not  my  people "  are  naturahy 
identical  with  those  referred  to  in  chap.  i.  9.  In 
the  place  in  which  it  is  said  to  them,  etc. 
There  is  no  need  of  inquiring  what  place  is  meant, 
whether  Palestine  or  the  Land  of  Exile.  The  ex- 
pression has  rather  the  more  general  sense :  "  Ju>t 
as  it  has  been  said  —  so  will  it  now  rather  be  said," 
etc.  The  one  will  answer  exactly  to  the  other 
Children  of  the  living  God.  Instead  of  simply 
my  people,  or,  people  of  God,  which  would  be  ex 
pectcd  at  first,  we  have  here  a  much  stronger  ex- 
pression. *n  /S  naturally  in  opposition  to  dead 
idols,  whose  service  brings  the  people  to  ruin 
They  are  not  merely  a  people  of  God,  but  bis  chil 


28 


HOSEA. 


dren :  they  shall  have  in  Him  not  merely  a  God 
but  a  Father  (see  below  in  the  Doctrinal  Section). 
There  is  no  allusion  here  to  the  moral  ground  of 
this  gracious  acceptance,  and  such  a  notion  must 
not  be  introduced.  For  to  the  darkness  of  the 
first  part  (chap,  i.)  the  light  is  here  contrasted 
quite  abruptly  and  in  a  way  quite  unprovided  for. 
The  connecting  link  is  not  found  before  the  more 
profound  exhibition  of  the  subject  in  chap.  ii.  It 
is  understood,  of  course,  that  only  a  remnant  is  to 
meet  with  compassion,  but  it  is  not  here  expressed. 
Vers.  2,  3.  And  the  children  of  Judah  and 
the  children  of  Israel  are  gathered  together  — 
Ruhamah.  The  acceptance  of  the  rejected  ones 
by  God  will  be  followed  by  a  reunion  of  those  who 
had  been  separated  (inwardly  as  well  as  outwardly 
—  on  the  one  side  belief  in  God,  on  the  other  idol- 
atry). Comp.  Jer.  1.  4,  which  rests  upon  our  pas- 
sage, and  iii.  18,  and  still  more  fully  Ezek.  xxxvii. 
15  ff.  The  children  of  Israel,  by  being  contrasted 
with  the  children  of  Judah,  receive  here  their 
more  restricted  and  special  meaning,  as  belonging 
to  the  Ten  Tribes.  The  words  :  appoint  for  them- 
selves one  head,  denoting  one  common  king,  ex- 
press this  union  still  more  definitely  (comp.  chap. 
iii.  5  ;  Ezek.  xxxiy.  24 ;  xxxvii.  24).  And  go 
up  out  of  the  land.  These  words  are  difficult. 
"  The  land  "  is,  according  to  most,  the  land  of 
Exile,  and  a  return  from  it  would  therefore  be  ex- 
pressed. It  is  certain  that  the  Prophet  does  not 
in  our  section  predict  a  leading  away  into  exile  ; 
for  "  the  place,"  etc.,  in  ver.  1  is  not  necessarily  to 
be  understood  of  a  foreign  land.  Yet  the  remark 
of  Reinke  is  not  incorrect :  When  it  is  said  of  Israel 
that  they  are  no  more  a  people  of  God,  and  will 
no  more  receive  compassion,  the  fact  is  presup- 

S>sed  that  they  could  remain  no  longer  in  the 
oly  Land  which  they  had  received  as  God's  peo- 
ple and  had  retained  through  his  mercy.  Already 
ln  Lev.  xxvi.  and  Deut.  xxviii.  banishment  into 
an  enemy's  country  was  threatened  to  the  people 
as  the  punishment  of  obdurate  apostasy.  It  may 
be  objected,  however,  that  by  this  explanation,  the 
Prophet  would  seem  to  have  presupposed  an  ex- 
ile of  Judah,  while  he  says  absolutely  nothing  of 
it,  but,  on  the  contrary,  distinguishes  in  chap.  i. 
7,  Judah  from  Israel.     Difficulty  is   felt   further 

in  the  indefinite  expression:  V~lSrT"]P  ""V^j 
which  gives  no  hint  of  a  land  of  exile.  Reinke, 
however,  as  after  him  Keil,  gives  this  explana- 
tion :  The  prophet  refers  to  Ex.  i.  10  and  borrows 
the  expression  from  that  passage,  a  supposition 
put  beyond  doubt  by  chap.  ii.  16, 17,  where  the  re- 
acceptance  of  Israel  is  represented  as  a  leading 
through  the  wilderness  to  Canaan,  and  a  parallel 
's  drawn  to  the  leading  forth  out  of  Egypt,  as  in 
chaps,  viii.  13 ;  ix.  3,  the  carrying  into  Exile  is 
described  as  a  carrying  into  Egypt  (comp.  also  al- 
ready Deut.  xxviii.  68).  Egypt  was  thus  a  type 
of  the  heathen  world,  over  which  Israel  was  to  be 
dispersed  ;  the  deliverance  from  Egypt  a  type  and 
earnest  of  deliverance  from  captivity  and  disper- 
sion among  the  heathen.  Well :  but  would  H  V V 
^'""Sn  "jft,  an  altogether  general  expression,  in- 
telligible in  itself,  have  been  a  strictly  technical 
term  for  "going  up  out  of  Egypt."  And  upon 
the  single  passage,  Ex.  i.  10,  in  which,  moreover, 
no  allusion  is  really  made  to  a  withdrawal  from 
Egypt  as  from  a  land  of  captivity,  but  Pharaoh 
only  speaks  of  a  departure  of  the  Israelites  from 
It  could  such  a  linguistic  usage  have  been  based, 
that  Y"")Sn  ]T2   Tl^'J  would    have   been    under- 


stood correctly  without  any  explanation  1  No 
other  passages  occur  upon  which  such  a  usag« 
could  have  been  founded,  and  none  in  which  it 
actually  occurs.  In  chap.  ii.  15,  e.  g.,  "Egypt" 
is  expressly  mentioned.  No  matter  how  much, 
therefore,  may  be  said  for  this  explanation  as  be- 
ing actually  correct,  it  cannot  be  approved  uncon- 
ditionally. Others  therefore  understand  "  the 
land,"  simply  of  Palestine.  "  Going  up  out  of 
the  land,"  is  thus  viewed  either  as  a  marching  up 
to  Jerusalem  (Simson),  and  to  this  the  context 
gives  much  support,  especially  in  the  reference  to 
the  reunion  of  Israel  and  Judah  under  one  head 
(David).  This  would  imply  that  Jerusalem  would 
become  again  the  common  central  point  of  the 
nation.  But  to  this  also  objection  may  be  made 
( in  another  direction )  to  the  too  general  expression 
^"ISH  "]72  TT7V.  The  terminus  a  quo  would 
then  be  quite  irrelevant.  Why  then  mention  this 
terminus  a  quo,  and  omit  the  terminus  ad  quern  —  to 
Jerusalem  (Zion),  which  is  the  important  point? 
Hence  ^~lSn  )72  rOl?  is  regarded  by  others  as 
a  marching  forth  to  victory  (Ewald),  as  David 
did.  The  comparison  with  Mic.  ii.  14  f.  is  cer- 
tainly a  fitting  one.  The  preceding  words,  about 
their  marshalling,  and  uniting  and  appointing  one 
head,  also  suit  this  view  well ;  one  is  led  to  think 
in  this  of  a  rising  up  to  vigorous  action  (because 
viribus  unitis).  This  explanation  demands  the 
mention  of  the  place  whither  this  TV7V  was  to  be 
directed  less  than  the  others.  But  perhaps  it  is 
indicated  in  the  following  still  more  obscure  sen- 
tence :  for  great  is  the  day  of  Jezreel.  This 
naturally  refers  back  to  chap.  i.  4,  5.  But  there 
Jezreel  was  the  place  of  overthrow  of  divine  judg- 
ment. Keil  supposes  the  same  thing  is  meant  here 
also,  than  that  day  of  defeat  was  great,  i.  e.,  de- 
cisive, glorious,  because  it  formed  the  critical  oc- 
casion by  which  the  return  of  the  recreant  and 
their  reunion  with  Judah  were  rendered  possible  ! 
Others  think  of  the  appellative  meaning  of  the 
name  Jezreel,  which  certainly  appears  in  chap.  ii. 
24,  25 :  God  sows.  This  use  of  the  term  is  sup- 
posed to  express  the  notion  that  the  Valley  of  Jez- 
reel, in  consequence  of  the  overthrow  there  suf- 
fered, becomes  a  place  where  God  sows  the  seed  of 
the  people's  renovation.  Keil  also  admits  this  as 
a  secondary  allusion.  But  to  understand  by  Di^ 
7S3?"]T^,  that  day  of  disaster,  and  to  suppose  that 
a  day  of  defeat  is  called  great  on  account  of  its 
good  remote  results,  is  a  far-fetched  notion.  Here 
in  chap.  ii.  1,  2,  in  the  announcement  of  deliver- 
ance, we  find  ourselves  upon  other  ground  than 
that  of  chap.  i.  4  ff.  What  is  here  praised  as  great, 
is  not  and  cannot  be  the  same  as  that  which  in 
chaii.  i.  is  announced  as  punishment,  but  must  be 
something  of  an  opposite  character.  But  if  we 
leave  out  of  view  that  day  of  battle,  we  have  left 
only  the  vague  notion :  time  of  God's  sowing,  i.  e., 
when  God  plants  as  He  had  before  rooted  out,  i.  e., 
the  time  of  reacceptance  ;  and  such  a  time  is  des- 
ignated as  great  by  vi"T3.  But  our  sentence  can- 
not be  supposed  to  give  utterance;  to  such  a  gen- 
eral thought.     The  confirmatory  "*3  does  not  suit 

such  a  view;  for  f  DV  alludes  too  definitely 
(as  Keil  has  perceived  correctly)  to  chap.  i.  4,  and 
therefore  refers  t;  a  definite  event;  only  not  thu 
same  event,  but  one  which  is  its  *  Dunterpart.  The 
sense  evidently  is  this,  that  there-  where  Israel  was 
overthrown,  and  its  bow  broken,  a  victory  will  yel 


CHAPTERS  I.  1-H.  3. 


2S 


ae  achieved :  thither  will  the  children  of  Israel 
and  Judah  gather  themselves  together  under  one 
king,  marching  up  out  of  the  country.  And  still 
the  appellative  significance  of  Jezreel  may  be  re- 
tained ;  for  by  this  victory  God  makes  a  new  sow- 
ing or  planting.  Thus,  as  the  threatening  is  con- 
nected with  the  names  of  the  children,  chap.  i.  4 
ff.,  so  also  is  the  promise  :  in  the  first  name  with- 
out any  modification,  in  the  other  two  by  the 
change  into  their  opposite  by  the  omission  of  the 
Sb.  [The  English  expositors  usually  take  the  ref- 
erence to  be  primarily  to  the  return  from  the  Baby- 
lonian captivity.  Some  of  them  (of  whom  Cowles 
is  the  latest)  refer  the  fulfillment  only  to  the  con- 
sequences of  the  reign  of  Messiah,  the  "  Head" 
chosen  not  only  by  the  united  children  of  Israel  and 
Judah  but  also  by  the  world.  Henderson,  denying 
any  multiple  sense  in  prophecy,  interprets  the 
"  head  "  to  be  Zerubbabel,  "  because  the  Messiah, 
whom  most  suppose  to  be  intended,  is  nowhere 
spoken  of  as  appointed  by  men,  but  always  as  the 
choice  and  appointment  of  God."  But  (1)  it  is  not 
said  that  they  will  appoint  their  leader  to  be  the 
Messiah.  That  is  of  course  God's  appointment. 
(2.)  The  Messiah  thus  appointed  must  necessarily 
be  the  chosen  leader  of  his  people.  It  is  the  ser- 
vice of  a  "  willing  people  "  in  which  they  engage. 
Even  God  always  offers  Himself  to  his  people  as 
their  king.  They  are  to  choose  whom  they  will 
serve.  This  argument  is  evidently  only  the  plea 
of  one  who  has  a  theory  to  uphold.  As  to  the 
main  application  of  these  verses,  it  is  probably 
best  to  regard  its  promise  as  partially  and  but  to  a 
very  small  degree  fulfilled  in  the  case  of  those  out 
of  the  Ten  Tribes  who  returned  to  Jerusalem  after 
the  Exile,  and  to  be  constantly  undergoing  its  ful- 
fillment in  the  increase  of  the  true  Israel  until  the 
"great  multitude  which  no  man  could  number  of 
all  nations"  (the  144,000,  the  mystical  number  of 
those  sealed  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel),  shall  be 
completed.  That  the  Messianic  application  is  al- 
most exclusively  the  true  one  is  evident  both  from 
the  grand  comprehensiveness  of  the  promise,  and 
from  the  paucity  of  evidence  as  to  subsequent  re- 
union to  any  extent  of  the  representatives  of  the 
two  kingdoms.  —  M.] 

Ver.  3.  —  Say  to  your  brethren,  Ammi,  and 
to  your  sisters,  Ruhamah.  According  to  some 
the  children  of  the  Prophet  are  addressed.  Those 
who  had  first  called  out  to  the  people  by  their  own 
names  :  Not-my-people  !  and  Unfavored !  are  now 
to  call  out  to  them  the  opposite.,  the  son  to  his 
brethren,  the  daughter  to  her  sisters,  that  is,  to 
the  rest  of  the  Israelites.  According  to  others,  it 
is  the  people  who  obtain  mercy  that  are  addressed, 
whose  members  are  to  salute  one  another  with  the 
new  name  bestowed  on  them  by  God  (Hengsten- 
berg,  Keil,  Umbreit).  The  latter  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred. For  the  verse  is  naturally  connected  with 
the  close  of  ver.  2,  and  it  should  therefore  present 
the  rejoicing  shouts  of  the  victors.  Their  victory 
is  to  them  a  pledge  of  their  acceptance  by  God, 
which  is  to  be  celebrated  by  these  joyful  shouts, 
according  to  the  requirement  of  the  Prophet,  or 
rather  of  God  through  him. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1.  One  of  the  most  profound  conceptions  of  the 
Did  Testament  is  that  which  regards  the  covenant 
•elation  between  Jehovah  and  Israel  as  a  mar- 
riage. As  a  consequence,  Israel's  idolatry  and 
ipostasy  from  God  appear  as  whoredom  or  adul- 


tery ;  for  idols  are  paramours  as  contrasted  with 
Jehovah  the  husband. 

The  fundamental  elements  of  this  conception 
are  found  as  early  as  in  the  Pentateuch  :  Ex. 
xxxiv.  14,  15;  Lev.  xvii.  7;  xx.  5,  6;  Num.  xiv 
33  ;  (xv.  39) ;  Deut.  xxxi.  16;  xxxii.  16,  21.  Ex. 
xxxiv.  14,  15  must  be  regarded  as  the  most  im- 
portant and  the  fundamental  passage. 

Other  passages  are  Judges  ii.  17;  viii.  33;  1 
Kings  xiv.  24 ;  xv.  12;  xxii.  47  ;  2  Kings  ix.  22, 
xxiii.  7;  1  Chron.  vi.  25;  2  Chron.  xxi.  11,  13. 
Further  in  the  Psalms  (if  we  leave  Ps.  xiv.  out  of 
the  question) ;  Ps.  ixxiii.  27  ;  cvi.  39. 

Such  passages  of  later  time,  as  those  from 
Chronicles,  naturally  presuppose  the  prophetic 
development  of  this  doctrine.  This  is  found  first 
in  our  Prophet,  who  has  made  that  conception  the 
fundamental  idea  of  his  discourses,  in  some  of 
which  it  is  directly  discussed,  while  it  permeates 
others  as  an  essential  principle  (e.  g.,  in  chap.  xi.). 
On  the  ground  of  these  discourses  it  is  more  fully 
presented  by  Jeremiah  (especially  chaps,  iii. ;  v.  7  ; 
xiii.  27,  etc.),  and  Ezekiel  (chaps,  xvi.-xxiii.).  It 
is  only  hinted  at  in  Isaiah  (chaps,  i.  21  ;  liv.  5  ; 
lvii.  3;  lxii.  5).  It  is  not  met  with  in  the  othe> 
prophets.  For  Nahuni  iii.  4  ff.  does  not  belong 
here  (although  the  expressions  show  allusions  to 
our  prophet).  Nor  does  Is.  xxiii.  16  ff. ;  for  there 
it  is  not  idolatry  that  is  represented  by  the  whore- 
dom of  Nineveh  and  Tyre.  In  addition,  on  the 
positive  side,  namely,  the  love  of  Jehovah  to  Israel, 
we  must  name  the  Song  of  Solomon,  which  bears 
besides,  unmistakable  allusions  to  our  Prophet. 
In  the  New  Testament  this  conception  returns, 
naturally  modified  in  form,  in  the  description  of 
the  great  Whore,  Rev.  xvii.  ff.  (embracing,  at  the 
same  time,  the  ideas  that  are  found  in  the  last- 
named  passages  concerning  great  and  commercial 
cities).  But  the  positive  notion  of  a  marriage  of 
Jehovah  to  his  people  is  found  again  in  a  New 
Testament  form  in  Eph.  v.  22  ff,  though  there  in 
an  inverted  order ;  for  an  actual  marriage  is  firsi 
taken,  and  a  parallel  is  then  drawn  between  it  and 
the  relation  of  Christ  to  the  Church. 

For  the  meaning  and  significance  of  this  whole 
conception  of  Jehovah's  relation  to  his  people,  our 
Prophet  is,  according  to  the  above  remarks,  tha 
best  commentator  in  all  his  writings,  and  especial- 
ly in  chap.  ii.  See  therefore  the  remarks  upon 
that  chapter. 

2.  "  God  will  not  be  mocked  "  is  the  truth  which 
the  writings  of  the  Prophet,  written  in  letters  of 
flame,  bear  upon  their  front  in  the  announcement 
of  the  destroying  judgments  which  God  must  and 
will  inflict  upon  his  apostate  people.  The  mode 
of  this  announcement  in  our  chapter  through  the 
three  children  with  symbolical  names,  is  full  of 
instruction.  The  very  fact  that  they  represent 
the  apostate  children  of  Israel  and  declare  by 
their  names  the  punishment  for  this  apostasy,  seta 
forth  unmistakably  the  close  connection  between 
sin  and  guilt,  namely,  that  punishment  is,  so  to 
speak,  attached  to  sin.  And  the  sudden  appear- 
ance of  the  three  children  without  any  interval 
expresses  evidently  the  certainty  and  unavoidable- 
ness  of  the  infliction  of  the  divine  judgment.  Th« 
three  symbolic  names,  moreover,  were  given  foi 
the  purpose  of  intensifying  and  emphasizing  tha 
announcement  of  the  judgment.  If  the  first  nama 
simply  presages  the  fact  of  a  retribution  by  an 
overwhelming  judgment,  the  second  unveils  witli 
terrible  clearness  its  ground  in  the  divine  nature  • 
it  is  that  they  shall  no  more  find  compassion,  tha 
God  has  turned  away  from  them.     Ani  the  resnl 


30 


IIOSEA. 


of  all  this  is  that  the  nation  ceases  to  be  a  people 
of  God.  Thus  the  whole  significance  of  this  judg- 
ment is  exhibited.  Destruction,  the  cessation  of 
mercy,  might  be  felt  by  any  other  people  or  king- 
dom; hut  with  the  people  of  God  its  influence 
was  different,  it  was  to  them  the  loss  of  its  special 
prerogative.  Such  a  judgment  has  therefore  a 
significance  which  is  not  merely  political  or  social 
but  also  theocratic,  and  must  be  inflicted  with  a 
terrible  severity  elsewhere  uufelt. 

But  it  is  most  palpably  enounced  in  our  chap- 
ter how  far  judgment  is  from  being  the  end  of 
God's  ways  toward  his  people.  Immediately  after 
the  three  'strokes  of  destruction,  so  to  speak,  had 
been  dealt,  the  sun  of  divine  favor  breaks  forth 
from  me  darkest  clouds  of  divine  judgment  in  the 
brightest  splendor  of  words  of  deliverance,  as  three 
names  are  again  sounded  forth  each  more  dis- 
tinctly than  the  former.  This  great  transforma- 
tion is  presented  without  the  least  preparation, 
evidently  as  an  enigma,  thus  exciting  the  greatest 
desire  for  its  solution.  The  connecting  link  be- 
tween these  two  announcements  so  broadly  con- 
trasted; namely,  on  the  side  of  God,  love,  in  which 
even  his  wrath  against  his  faithless  people  is 
rooted  —  if  He  were  indifferent  He  would  not  be 
angry, —  and  on  the  side  of  man,  a  return  to  Him 
in  consequence  of  the  chastening  of  his  judg- 
ments, is  not  yet  displayed  here.  This  is  done  by 
the  longer  exposition  given  in  the  following  chap- 
ter. 

3.  A  man  may  be  the  instrument  of  God  and, 
by  his  acts,  execute  his  will,  and  yet  be  rejected  : 
so  Jehu.  Our  position  is  determined  by  the  rela- 
tion which  we  inwardly  bear  to  that  will,  accord- 
ing to  the  simple  truth  that  God  regards  the  heart, 
whether  we  make  the  desires  of  God  our  own  and 
are  willing  to  be  nothing  but  his  instruments  and 
to  serve  Him,  or  whether  we  assert  and  claim  a 
place  for  our  own  interests,  and  thus  in  truth  seek 
our  own  will  and  not  the  will  of  God.  If  we  in 
this  seek  our  own  ends,  the  result  is  inevitable ; 
our  execution  of  the  divine  will  is  impeded  and 
disturbed,  if  it  is  not  rather  only  a  seeming  fulfill- 
ment and  our  labors  abortive. 

4.  The  New  Testament  conception  of  sonship 
with  God,  has  as  its  Old  Testament  correlative 
that  of  a  people  of  God.  This  places  God  in  a 
close,  unique  relation  to  men.  But  God  appears 
there  as  only  Lord  and  King,  though  bestowing 
blessings  and  offering  the  conditions  of  life;  and 
man,  to  whom  He  thus  stands  in  relation,  is  not 
the  individual  but  only  the  people  of  God  as  a 
whole.  Therefore  also  this  government  of  God 
has  for  one  of  its  aims  the  restoration  and  preser- 
vation of  the  outward  conditions  of  national  exist- 
ence, including  the  natural  basis  of  such  a  com- 
munity, the  land  itself.  Under  the  New  Covenant 
there  is  also  a  people  of  God,  but  the  individuals, 
who  constitute  the  whole,  are  all  regarded  as  chil- 
dren of  God 

But  in  another  direction  the  Old  Testament  no- 
tion of  a  people  of  God  tends  undeniably  towards 
the  New  Testament  conception  of  sonship,  and 
thus  shown  itself  to  be  a  germ  ever  developing 
with  living  power  as  the  earnest  of  its  fruit.  All 
Israel  appears  as  a  son  of  God  in  the  significant 
passage,  Ex.  xi.  22;  comp.  further  Hos.  xi.  1. 
The  Israelites  themselves  are  also  called  "  sons  of 
Sod,"  Deut.  xiv.  1  ;  xxxii.  19,  and  here  in  our 
chapter.  But  these  are  only  single  whispers,  and 
the  grand  distinction  must  not  be  overlooked,  that 
this  expression  is  applied  only  to  the  totality  of 
.he    people,   even    when   it    relates    to    their    great 


multitude.  Moreover  our  passage  is  contained  m 
an  announcement  with  regard  to  the  future,  and 
we  must  hold  beyond  question  that  the  prophet! 
go  beyond  the  stand-point  of  the  Old  Covenant 
It  is  just  as  Paul  declares  in  Gal.  iv.  1  ff'.  Israel 
indeed  actually  held  the  position  of  sonship  to- 
ward God,  but  e<£'  oaov  xp&vov  &  K\T)pov.  vriTTioi 
iariv  ovStv  Siacpepet  SovKov.  Only  the  incarnation 
of  the  Son  of  God  Himself  in  an  individual  per- 
son could  confer  the  privilege  of  the  relation  of 
individual  and  personal  sonship  towards  God,  the 
vlodtaia  of  individual  personality. 

5.  How  is  the  promise  in  chap.  ii.  1-3  fulfilled? 
We  might  at  first  be  inclined  to  seek  the  fulfillment 
in  the  return  of  the  people  from  Babylonish  Exile. 
For  that  event  certainly  marks  the  turning-point 
where  God's  judgment  upon  his  people  reached 
its  end  and  his  favor  again  shone  upon  them.  But 
in  truth  we  cannot  yet  discern  the  accomplishn  tut 
of  the  prophecy  in  that  event.  It  could  hardly  be 
the  subject  of  the  promise,  inasmuch  as  the  Prophet 
only  speaks  and  knows  here  of  a  judgment  upon 
the  Ten  Tribes.  But  if  a  return  from  the  As- 
syrian Exile  and  a  consequent  reunion  with  the 
kingdom  of  Judah  had  taken  place,  we  might  ex 
peet  to  see  in  these  events  a  fulfillment  of  the  prom- 
ise. But  such  a  return  and  consequent  remission 
of  the  judgment  upon  the  kingdom  of  Israel  never 
took  place ;  and  the  return  from  the  Babylonish 
Exile  affected  that  kingdom  but  very  slightly, 
and  brought  about  only  to  a  very  small  degree  a 
season  of  deliverance.  God's  favor  returned,  in 
deed,  inasmuch  as  this  period  was  an  assurance 
that  God  had  not  utterly  rejected  his  people,  and 
the  hope  of  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophetic  prom- 
ises became  so  much  the  brighter.  But  it  was  not 
the  fulfillment  itself.  No;  to  arrive  at  that  we 
have  only  to  look  at  our  promise  a  little  more 
closely. 

Before  the  eye  of  the  Prophet  there  is  evidently 
standing  here  a  picture  of  a  people  of  Israel,  not 
only  innumerably  increased  and  united  into  one 
kingdom,  but  also  actually  realizing  the  idea  of  a 
people  of  God  ("  sons  of  the  living  God  ").  That 
is,  the  time  which  he  promises  is  in  his  mind  di- 
rectly the  "  time  of  fulfillment,"  which  wc,  upon 
the  ground  of  other  prophecies,  since  Hosea  him- 
self scarcely  speaks  of  the  Messiah  (not  even  in 
chap.  iii.  5),  must  designate  the  Messianic.  Hence 
we  can  in  no  case  seek  the  fulfillment  in  events 
which  transpired  before  the  advent  of  the  Messiali. 

But  now  the  Messiah  has  come  in  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth. Is  this  promise  of  prophecy  already  ful- 
filled 1  Is  this  picture  of  the  future  already  real- 
ized 1  If  we  keep  to  the  words  of  the  Text  we 
must  answer,  No. 

In  fact  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  did  not  bring 
for  Israel,  as  a  whole,  the  time  of  deliverance,  but 
on  account  of  its  guilt,  rather  a  time  of  rejection, 
and  the  consequence  was  the  infliction  of  a  new 
and  still  more  complete  judgment.  It  is  quite 
clear  also  that  we  cannot  find  the  fulfillment  of  the 
present  promise  in  the  acceptance  of  the  Messiah 
by  the  comparatively  few  who  did  accept  Him. 
Must  we  then  say  that  God  did  indeed  design  for 
the  people  in  the  Messiah  such  blessings  as  are 
here  promised ;  but  that,  since  they  rejected  Him. 
the  promised  time  will  never  be  theirs  ?  In  one 
respect  this  is  perfectly  true.  But  we  cannot  res 
satisfied  with  it.  The  prophetic  promise  with  all 
its  rich  fullness  of  meaning  would  then  simply  fall 
to  the  ground. 

But  still  more  unjustifiable  is  the  assumption 
that    the  promise  is   to  be  regarded    as  only  su» 


CHAPTERS  I.  1-IL  o. 


31 


pended  for  the  people  of  Israel  during  the  time  of 
their  obduracy,  and  to  expect  its  fulfillment  in  that 
nation  when  it  shall  be  converted  to  the  Messiah. 
For  this  opinion,  though  so  much  favored  of  kite, 
simply  holds  mechanically  and  restrietively  to  the 
letter,"  with  a  complete  misconception  of  the  nature 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  and  their  mutual 
relations,  and  of  the  higher  plane  to  which  divine 
Revelation  rose  with  Christ,  and  supposes  it  pos- 
sible that  Revelation  could  retreat  from  the  stand- 
pointof  the  fulfillment  to  that  of  the  Old  Testament 
preparation,  where  Israel  as  a  people  represented 
the  kingdom  of  God.  It  would  assume  also  that 
allusion  was  made  to  the  one  kingdom  only,  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  .that  the  distinction  be- 
tween children  of  Judah  and  children  of  Israel 
was  lost  by  the  extinction  of  the  whole  kingdom, 
even  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  independently  of 
the  consummation  of  the  reunion  under  one  head 
here  promised.  And  therefore  a  promise  which 
takes  that  division  for  granted  and  holds  out  the 
prospect  of  its  removal  and  conversion  into  a 
higher  unity,  cannot  be  regarded  as  one  whose  ful- 
fillment (according  to  the  plain  sense  of  the  words) 
is  still  to  be  expected  ;  or  is  that  division  of  the 
two  kingdoms,  which  no  longer  exist,  yet  to  take 
place,  in  order  that  it  may  at  some  time  be  re- 
moved ?  If  we  have  to  uive  up  the  main  posi- 
tion of  this  assumption  of  a  literal  fulfillment  yet 
to  be  accomplished,  on  account  of  its  intrinsic  im- 
possibility, all  support  is  taken  away  from  the  no- 
tion that  the  promise  will  be  realized  in  and  for 
the  people  of  Israel  upon  the  soil  of  the  Holy 
Land.     It  falls  to  pieces  from  internal  weakness. 

Instead,  therefore,  of  dreaming  of  a  future  ful- 
fillment in  the  literal  sense,  we  must  rather  say, 
that  the  Prophet  knows  of  a  people  of  God  only 
in  the  form  of  Israel,  and  hence  what  he  hopes 
and  promises  for  the  people  of  God  he  hopes 
and  promises  for  Israel,  and  in  the  form  condi- 
tioned by  Israel's  history.  But  it  has  become 
clear  to  us  under  the  New  Testament  through 
Christ :  Israel  was  only  a  type,  necessary  for  its 
time  and  chosen  by  God,  of  the  true  people  of 
God,  only  a  shell  which  contained  the  kernel  in 
the  mean  while,  but  at  the  same  time  was  also  to 
protect  it  until  the  time  of  its  maturity.  But  the 
shell  was  too  small  and  must  be  burst ;  the  kernel 
had  not  and  has  not  sufficient  room,  and  it  would 
be  reversing  the  order  of  things,  after  the  kernel  is 
laid  bare  to  retain  the  shell.  It  is  not  the  outward 
Israel  that  is  God's  people;  it  was  just  the  period 
of  its  rain,  just  the  rejection  of  the  Messiah  at  his 
coming  by  the  external  Israel  that  opened  the  way 
for  this.  It  was  made  clear  that  a  people  as  such 
was  insufficient  for  this  high  calling,  to  be  the 
chosen  people  of  God,  as  the  prophets  themselves 
distinguished  more  and  more  between  the  mere 
external  Israel  and  the  true  Israel,  and  saw  the 
heathen  coming  to  Zion  and  entering  the  breach. 
And  though  Israel  is  still  held  as  the  central  point, 
the  fulfillment  is  not  in  outward  form,  but  ideally, 
.nasmuch  as  Christ  came  the  "  Saviour  of  the 
Jews  ;  "  Israel  therefore  remaining  the  root  in 
which  the  others  were  engrafted.  We  can  under- 
stand now  the  promise  of  the  innumerable  increase 
(chap.  ii.  1 ).  Literally  it  would  apply  to  the  people 
of  Israel,  but  can  only  apply  to  them  as  the  people 
of  God ;  and  even  though  the  older  prophets  say 
nothing  as  yet  of  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles,  as 
Vlicah  and  Isaiah  do,  we  have  now  assuredly  a 
right  to  abandon  the  notion  of  an  increase  of  the 
external  Israel,  and  to  see  the  fulfillment  in  the 
Sounding  of  a  peaole  of  God  by  Christ  just  in  the 


time  of  the  final  ruin  of  Israel,  who  have  become 
especially  by  the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  a 
numberless  multitude,  and  will  become  still  more 
numerous.  Then  the  reunion  of  the  divided  king- 
doms is  an  essential  element  in  the  Messianic  pic 
ture  of  the  future  held  up  in  prophecy,  as  thii 
very  passage  shows.  This  is  altogether  natural 
Since  prophecy  knows  a  people  of  God  only  in 
the  form  of  the  people  of  Israel,  it  was  necessary, 
if  salvation  was  to  be  brought  by  the  reign  of  the 
Messiah,  that  the  breach,  so  harmful  to  God's  peo- 
ple, and  the  fruitful  source,  even  more  than  the 
consequence,  of  apostasy  from  Jehovah,  should  be 
removed.  If  Israel  was  to  be  described  as  be- 
coming converted  to  God,  it  must  also  be  repre- 
sented as  returning  to  its  un  iy  under  the  divi  i  ly 
chosen  House  of  David.  This  element  also  in 
the  promise  belongs  naturally  to  its  form,  the  form 
which  it  must  naturally  assume  under  the  Old 
Covenant.  As  in  the  New  Testament  it  was  de- 
clared that  the  outward  Israel  was  not  to  consti- 
tute God's  people  for  all  time,  this  element  lost  its 
significance  ;  we  cannot  expect  a  literal  fulfillment 
of  this  promise,  but  the  idea  which  lies  at  its 
foundation  has  been  and  is  being  realized,  that  is, 
the  idea  of  the  real  unity  of  God's  people  under 
one  head  of  the  house  of  David,  who  was,  how- 
ever, more  than  the  son  of  David,  namely,  under 
Christ.  These  promises  have  thus  a  higher  range 
than  the  Prophet  conceives,  and  find  their  fulfill- 
ment in  a  far  higher  sense  than  he  hopes,  and  as 
the}-  are  thus  more  than  mere  human  aspirations 
and  pious  wishes,  they  are  sedi  to  proceed  from 
the  Spirit  of  God,  who  preformed  and  prevised 
the  New  Covenant  in  the  Old.  So  little  does  this 
view  do  away  with  the  divine  authority  of  the 
prophetic  word,  that  it  is  rather  its  only  real  attes- 
tation and  adequate  expression,  unlike  the  other 
literalizing  view  disproved  above. 

But  if  the  reproach  of  spiritualizing  should  be 
brought  against  this  conception,  our  defense  is  that 
we  only  spiritualize  in  reference  to  Old  Testament 
promises,  along  with  the  Apostles,  and  would  not 
be  more  realistic  than  they,  who  (1  Pet.  ii.  10; 
Rom.  ix.  25,  26),  although  fully  aware  of  the  lit- 
eral sense  of  our  passages,  yet  do  expressly  refer 
them  to  the  conversion  of  the  heathen.  Peter  in 
the  same  connection  (ver.  9)  sets  the  New  Testa- 
ment people  of  God,  Christians,  directly  in  the 
place  of  those  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  therefore 
the  former  are  now  the  true  Israel.  This  exten- 
sion with  reference  to  the  heathen  is  also  quite 
consequent.  If  the  words :  not  my  people,  were 
once  pronounced  over  Israel,  it  was  because  they 
had  sunk  quite  to  the  level  of  the  heathen.  And 
if  they  are  to  be  received  again,  they  would  be  re- 
ceived just  as  those  who  had  actually  become  like 
heathen  ;  and  it  is  no  longer  right  to  exclude  the 
heathen,  who  are  behind  them  in  no  respect.  But 
there  is  this  difference  between  the  reacceptance 
and  the  first  choice.  When  the  Israelites  were 
chosen  they  were  not  in  positive  opposition  to  God. 
but  now  they  are  so;  and  therefore  a  longer  exclu- 
sion of  the  heathen  would  be  a  particularizing  to 
a  greater  extent  than  their  disciplinary  training 
demanded  ;  it  would  be  a  violation  of  justice.  Fo 
the  rest :  Paul  declares  clearly  that  Israel  itself 
shall  not  be  excluded  (Rom.  xi.  26).  Only  thus 
should  the  people  of  God  attain  to  its  full  increase 
(And  surely,  in  the  fact  of  the  preservation  of  Is- 
rael in  its  nationality  even  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment, we  may  sec  a  promise  of  this  conversion 
although  that  wonderful  preservation  by  God's 
providence  is  to  be  regarded  in  its  most  patent  as- 


32 


HOSEA. 


pect  as  a  part  of  the  judgment  decreed  upon  Israel 
by  God.  It  is  preserved  as  a  living  witness  of  the 
rejection  decreed  by  God  on  account  of  its  unbe- 
lief and  rejection  of  the  Messiah.)  Only  Paul 
Bays  not  a  word,  when  promising  Israel's  conver- 
sion, that  would  lead  us  to  think  that  a  people  of 
God,  Kar  i^oxv",  will  be  continued,  not  a  word  of 
the  "glory  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,"  though  his 
heart  beat  so  warmly  (comp.  chap,  ix.)  towards 
his  nation  in  its  outward  sense. 

Finally  we  have  only  further  to  remark  that  in 
our  referenees  to  the  Messianic  period  inaugurated 
by  Christ,  as  the  time  of  the  fulfillment  of  the  pro- 
phetic promises,  "  Messianic  time  "  is  taken  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  term,  and  the  whole  course 
of  the  New  Testament  dispensation,  from  its 
foundation  to  its  completion,  is  regarded  as  one 
whole,  so  that  we  have  not  yet  attained  to  the  per- 
fect fulfillment,  although  the  promises  of  prophecy 
have  been  undergoing  their  realization  since  the 
time  of  Christ.  "  For  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be."  The  fulfillment  is  not  yet  complete, 
but  we  stand  in  expectation  of  it.  This  perfect 
realization  consists  least  in  the  literal  fulfillment 
with  respect  to  the  external  Israel  alone,  but  it  too, 
in  so  far  as  it  is  converted  to  the  Messiah,  will  have 
a  share  in  the  complete  salvation  ready  for  all  who 
will  be  converted  to  God  through  Christ. 


HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL 

Ver.  2.  Stakke  :  All  departure  from  God's 
Word  and  from  true  religion  is  a  spiritual  whore- 
dom.    Blessed  are  they  who  beware  of  this  ! 

Ver.  4.  Starke  :  As  a  good  intention  without 
God's  counsel  does  not  make  a  cause  good,  so  it 
cannot  be  said  that  the  divine  will  has  been  ful- 
filled, when  it  has  been  executed  with  a  perverted 
heart  and  not  in  accordance  with  the  divine  pur- 
poses. (Comp.  the  Doctrinal  and  Ethical  section, 
No.  3.) 

Wubx.  Scmm.  :  God's  wrath  often  falls  upon 
posterity,  and  they  must  suffer  for  the  sins  of  their 
forefathers,  if  they  walk  in  their  evil  footsteps 
(Ex.  xx.  5). 

Tub.  Bible  :  Public  sins  of  a  whole  nation  or  of 
its  kings  and  princes  are  followed  by  a  general  judg- 
ment of  God,  by  which  whole  lands  are  destroyed. 

[Pcsey  :  So  awful  a  thing  it  is  to  be  the  instru- 
ment of  God  in  punishing  or  reproving  others  if 
we  do  not  by  his  grace  keep  our  own  hearts  and 
hands  pure  from  sin.  —  M.] 

Ver.  6.  Wurt.  Summ.  :  Behold  here  the  sever- 
ity of  the  divine  wrath.  God  is  certainly  compas- 
sionate, but  his  compassion  is  regulated  by  his  holy 
righteousness.  His  compassion  exceeds  all  human 
petitions  and  understanding ;  but  his  wrath  goes 
beyond  all  human  reckoning.  Men  may  keep  on 
sinning  against  our  beloved  God  too  long,  so  that 
when  He  has  waited  long  exhorting  them  to  re- 
pentance, and  they  do  not  follow  Him,  his  words 
at  last  are:  "Lo-Ruhamah  Lo-Ammi."  Beware 
of  this  and  do  not  defer  your  repentance ;  for 
God  may  soon  become  as  angry  as  He  was  merci- 
ful. 

Ver.  7.  Cbameb  :  When  human  help  ceases, 
divine  help  begins.  He  is  not  limited  to  the  use 
of  means,  but  is  Himself  our  Help  and  Shield. 

[Burroughs  :  The  more  immediate  the  hand 
of  God  appears  in  his  mercy  to  his  people,  the 
more  sweet  and  precious  ought  that  mercy  then  to 
be.  Dulcius  ex  ipsofonie.  Created  mercies  are  the 
Host  perfect  mercies.  —  M.| 


Starke  :  Woe  to  him  whose  God  the  Lord  will 
no  longer  be.  Let  men  therefore  beware  lest  by 
presumptuous  sin  they  trifle  away  all  intercourse 
with  God. 

Rieger  :  When  God  thus  renounces  those  who 
were  his  people,  it  is  much  more  lamentable  than 
any  severance  between  those  who  are  married  or 
betrothed.  "  I  will  be  your  God  and  ye  shall  be 
my  people,"  was  the  formula  of  the  covenant. 
They  had  broken  the  last  condition  by  their  unbe- 
lief; and  thus  they  stirred  up  the  Lord  to  anger 
so  that  He  renounced  the  first.  Yet  He  has  not 
expressly  retracted  the  whole  formula  of  the  cov- 
enant. He  did  not  say  :  I  will  not  be  your  God, 
but  He  cut  short  his  words  in  anger :  I  will  not 
be  yours.  Thus  room  is  left  for  that  mercy  which 
shall  awake  anew  for  them. 

Ver.  9.  The  threatenings  are  indeed  terrible  : 
but  how  merciful  it  was  in  God  to  announce  the 
judgment  before  it  comes ;  and  the  plainer  and 
more  striking  these  threatenings  are  the  greater 
the  mercy.  This  is  a  ground  for  hoping  that  the 
judgment  will  be  averted. 

Chap.  ii.  ver.  1.  This  is  the  order  and  method 
of  God's  dealings  :  He  slays,  not  that  He  may  keep 
under  the  power  of  death,  but  that  He  may  bring 
to  repentance.  Thus  He  dispersed  Israel  among 
the  heathen,  and  without  any  compassion  and 
mercy,  as  it  seemed  to  outward  observation,  re- 
jected them  utterly.  For  the  Ten  Tribes  have  not 
yet  returned  to  their  own  land.  But  how  abun- 
dantly has  God  compensated  to  them  this  misfor- 
tune !  For  those  who  were  scattered  among  the 
heathen,  He  gathered  again  by  the  Gospel,  and  so 
gathered  them  that  a  great  multitude  of  the  heathen 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
along  with  the  remnant  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel. 
He  points  the  people  of  Israel  to  this  compensa- 
tion, that  they  may  not  despond  in  such  affliction, 
as  we  also  assuage,  by  the  hope  of  the  future  glory, 
prepai-ed  for  us  by  the  death  of  Christ,  the  sor- 
rows of  those  calamities  which  we  see  before  our 
eyes. 

[Burroughs  :  If  we  expect  God  to  be  a  living 
God  to  us,  it  becomes  us  not  to  have  dead  hearts  in 
his  service.  If  God  be  active  for  our  good,  let  us 
be  active  for  his  honor. —  M.] 

Ver.  2.  Starke  :  The  Church  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament has  only  one  Head,  who  is  Christ.  Blessed 
are  we  if  we  cleave  to  and  follow  Him  ! 

[Matthew  Henry  :  To  believe  in  Christ  is  to 
appoint  Him  to  ourselves  for  our  Head,  that  is,  to 
consent  to  God's  appointment  and  willingly  to  sub- 
mit to  his  guidance  and  appointment ;  and  this  in 
concurrence  and  communion  with  all  good  Chris- 
tians who  make  Him  their  Head ;  so  that  though 
they  are  many,  yet  in  Him  they  are  one,  and  so 
become  one  with  each  other.  Qui  conveniunt  in  ali- 
quo  tertio  inter  se  conveniunt.  —  M.]. 

Ver.  3.  The  prophet  gives  the  best  application 
of  the  names  which  God  bade  him  apply  to  his 
children  in  order  that  the  Christian  Church  may 
be  convinced  thereby  that  all  the  former  things  are 
reversed,  that  wrath  is  done  away,  and  that  the 
unfathomable  compassion  and  mercy  of  God  stand 
open  to  every  man.  For  how  should  God,  after  Ha 
gave  his  son,  not  with  Him  have  given  all  things? 
This  word  "  say  "  belongs  to  the  office  of  public 
preaching.  We  are  to  ttnderstand  by  it  that  th« 
servants  of  God  in  the  New  Testament  are  com 
manded  to  comfort  believers,  and  to  declare  to 
them  that  they  stand  in  mercy  and  arj  a  people  of 
God. 

[Pusey  :  The  words  "  my  people  "  are  words  of 


CHAPTER  U.  4-25.  38 


hope  in  prophecy ;  they  become  words  of  joy  in 
each  stage  of  fulfillment.  They  are  words  of  mu- 
tual joy  and  gratulation  when  obeyed ;  they  are 


words  of  encouragement  until  obeyed.  God  is  reo> 
onciled  to  us,  and  willeth  that  we  should  be  recon- 
ciled to  Him.  —  M.]. 


Fuller  Discourse  op  Jehovah  Concerning  His  Adulterous  Spouse,  Israel. 

Chapter  n.  4-25. 

A.    Complaint  and  Threatening  of  Punishment. 

Verses  4-15. 

4  Plead  with  your  mother,  plead  ! 
For  she  is  not  my  wife 

And  I  am  not  her  husband, 

That  she  put  away  her  whoredom  from  before  her 

And  her  adultery  from  between  her  breasts. 

5  Lest  I  strip  her  naked, 

And  place  her  as  (she  was  in)  the  day  of  her  birth) 
And  make  her  like  the  wilderness, 
And  set  her  (so  as  to  be)  like  a  barren  land, 
And  slay  her  with  hunger. 

6  And  on  her  children  I  will  not  have  mercy, 
For  they  are  children  of  whoredom 

7  Because  their  mother  has  committed  whoredom 
And  she  that  bore  them  has  caused  shame, 
Because  she  said :  I  will  go  after  my  lovers, 
Who  furnished  my  bread  and  my  water, 

My  wool  and  my  flax, 

My  oil  and  my  (pleasant)  drinks. 

8  Therefore  behold  I  am  hedging  up  thy  way  with  thorns, 

And  will  wall  Up  a  Wall  [raise  a  wall  before  her] 

And  she  will  not  find  her  paths. 

9  And  she  will  pursue  her  lovers  and  not  overtake  them 
And  will  seek  them  and  not  find ; 

And  she  will  say  :  I  will  go  and  return  to  my  former  husband 
For  (it  was)  better  with  me  then  than  now. 

10  And  she  did  not  know  that  I  gave  her 
The  corn  and  the  wine  and  the  oil, 

And  that  I  increased  for  her  silver  and  gold, 
(Which)  they  used  for  Baal. 

11  Therefore  will  I  take  back  my  corn  in  its  time 
And  my  wine  in  its  season, 

And  snatch  away  my  wool  and  my  flax 
(Which  was)  to  cover  her  nakedness, 

12  And  then  will  I  uncover  her  shame 
In  the  eyes  of  her  lovers, 

And  none  will  deliver  her  from  my  hands. 

13  And  I  will  bring  to  an  end  all  her  joy ; 

Her  feast-making,  her  new-moons,  her  sabbaths, 
And  all  her  festivals. 

14  And  will  lay  waste  her  vine  and  her  fig  tree 
Of  which  she  said  :  they  are  my  reward 
Which  my  lovers  gave  to  me : 

And  will  make  her  a  forest, 

And  the  beast  of  the  field  will  devour  her. 


84  HO  SEA. 

15  And  I  will  visit  upon  her  the  days  of  the  Baals ; 
To  which  she  burnt  incense, 

And  (then)  put  on  her  ring  and  her  jewels, 
And  went  after  her  lovers, 
And  forgot  me,  saith  Jehovah. 

B.   The  Punishment  leads  to  Conversion,  and  thus  to  the  glorious  Renewal  of  the  Mar 
riage  Contract  between  Jehovah  and  Israel. 

Verses  16-25. 

16  Therefore,  behold,  I  am  alluring  her. 
And  will  lead  her  into  the  wilderness 
And  speak  unto  her  heart  [speak  with  comfort]. 

17  And  I  will  give  her  her  vineyards  from  thence, 
And  the  Valley  of  Achor  as  a  door  of  hope, 

And  she  will  answer  then  as  in  the  days  of  her  youth, 
As  in  the  day  of  her  coming  up  from  the  land  of  Egypt. 

18  And  it  will  be  in  that  day,  saith  the  Lord, 
Thou  wilt  call :  My  husband, 

And  thou  wilt  no  more  call  me :  My  Baal. 

19  And  I  will  remove  the  names  of  the  Baals  from  her  mouth, 
And  they  shall  no  more  be  remembered  by  their  name, 

20  And  I  will  make  for  them  in  that  day  a  covenant 
With  the  beast  of  the  field, 

And  with  the  birds  of  heaven, 

And  the  creeping  things  of  the  earth, 

And  bow  and  sword  and  war  will  I  destroy  from  th6  land, 

And  make  them  dwell  in  security. 

21  And  I  will  betroth  thee  to  me  for  ever, 

And  betroth  thee  to  me  in  righteousness  and  justice, 
And  in  mercy  and  in  compassion ; 

22  And  betroth  thee  to  me  in  faithfulness, 
And  thou  shalt  know  Jehovah. 

23  And  it  will  be  in  that  day, 

I  will  answer,  saith  the  Lord, 

"Will  answer  the  heavens, 

And  they  will  answer  the  earth, 

24  And  the  earth  will  answer  the  corn  and  the  wine  and  the  oil, 
And  they  will  answer  Jezreel  [God's  sowing] 

25  And  I  will  sow  her  for  myself  in  the  land, 
And  favor  "  Unfavored," 

And  say  to  "  Not-my-people  "  : 
"  Thou  art  my  people," 
And  they  shall  say  :  "  My  God." 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

i  \er  4._  D>£5\£S3,  In.  Key.  =  2>2S3.  Fiirst  regards  it  aa  signifying  objects  of  idolatrous  worship,  ther» 
fore  :  little  images,  which  are  represented  as  being  oarried  upon  the  breast.  [But  this  is  opposed  to  the  parallel  ezpres 
•ion,  D^SQT,  which,  as  Hengstenberg  says,  is  evidently  to  be  taken  as  the  species  (adultery)  Of  which  the  othel 
(whoredoms,  acts  of  unchastity)  is  the  genus.  As  illustrating  the  Btness  of  this  picture,  Manger  compares  Ez.  xxiii.  3, 
tnd  Horace,  Orf.,  i.,  19,  7,  8.  —  M.] 

p  Ver.  8.  —  7TH3.  J.  H.  Michaelis  and  Jahn  point  in  their  editions  7T"H3,  her  will,  and  this  reading,  Hengsten 
»erg  assumes,  without  any  discussion,  to  be  correct.  But  there  is  an  obvious  unsuitableness  in  this.  The  wall  could 
•ot  be  represented  as  being  «  her  "  wall  unless  it  were  conceived  of  as  existing  before  the  action  on  the  part  of  Jehovah, 
rtieh  action  was  to  make  the  wall.  —  M.] 


CHAPTER  II.  4-25. 


35 


[8  Ver.  11.  —  i""n357,  (which  were)  to  cover.  Such  an  ellipsis  is  quite  common  The  rendering  of  the  LXX 
rov  pi)  KaAvnreiv,  conveys  the  sense,  but  is  not  a  translation.  It  was  quite  unnecessary  for  Newcome,  Horaley,  Booth 
royd,  and  others  following  Houbigant,  who  was  misled  by  the  LXX.,  to  change  the  7  into  72.— M.] 

4  Ver.  14.  —  n3HS.      This  is  usually  derived  from  HDH,  as  also  is  the  usual  synonym,  p.HS.      Hengstenberf. 

labors  to  prove  the  derivation  of  both  words  from  ^j~Q  and  its  1st  fut.  :  a  «  I-will-give-thee,"  similar  to  our  "  forget- 
me-not."     The  absence  of  daghesh-forte  in  both  nouns  would  seem  to  prove  the  untenableness  of  this  hypothesis.  -    M.] 

6  Ver.  17.—  nnp3?.      Some  take  this  from  TO  3?,  to  be  bowed  down,  here:  to  be  humble.     But  this  does  no    suit 

the  sense  of  the  verse.     Besides,  !m7SK7  would  then  =  DCZ7. 

T    T  T 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

This  chapter  is  the  essential  supplement  to  chap. 
i.  It  contains,  in  a  more  discursive  style,  an  ex- 
position, justifying  and  elucidating  that  which  in 
chap.  i.  was  presented  only  as  a  theme,  and  in 
some  parts  even  enigmatically  in  its  brief  sentences. 
The  complaint  and  threatening  of  destroying  judg- 
ments were  uttered  without  any  preparation  ;  and 
still  more  suddenly  were  they  followed  immediately 
by  as  glorious  an  announcement  of  salvation.  Chap. 
i.  must  thus  excite  inquiries,  not  so  much  through 
the  symbolical  representation  of  the  first  part,  as 
by  these  unexpected  utterances,  inquiries  which  de- 
mand an  answer.  Such  answer  is  given  by  the 
Lord  Himself  in  chap.  ii.  4  ff.,  in  a  longer  dis- 
course. This  is  now  altogether  based  upon  the 
conception  of  Israel  as  an  unchaste  wife,  which  was 
only  indicated  in  chap.  i.  and  then  disappeared,  and 
is  developed  in  two  sections,  of  threatening  and  of 
promise.  A  complaint  is  first  raised  against  the 
unchaste  wife,  and  then  the  course  of  punishment 
is  figuratively  described,  which,  however,  is  seen 
to  be  really  a  chastening  with  the  view  to  conver- 
sion from  idolatry.  This  conversion  itself  is  prom- 
ised, and  the  wayr  thus  prepared  for  the  announce- 
ment of  salvation.  Israel,  returning  as  penitently 
as  a  wife  to  her  husband,  finds  mercy  with  God. 
ISo  the  close,  ver.  24  f.,  returns  expressly  to  chap. 
i.-ii.  3,  and  the  discourse  is  thus  shown  to  be  most 
closely  connected  with  that  section. 

The  complaint  and  announcement  of  punish- 
ment occupy  vers.  4-15.  The  discourse  takes  a 
turn  with  ver.  16.  The  declaration  of  deliverance 
is  introduced  by  the  announcement  of  conversion, 
and  from  ver.  20  onwards  becomes  a  glorious  prom- 
ise. 

A.  Vers.  4-15.  Complaint,  and  Announcement 
of  Punishment. 

Vers.  4-6.  Plead  with  your  mother  —  for 
they  are  children  of  whoredom.  The  person 
who  makes  the  demand  is  naturally  Jehovah. 
Those  who  are  addressed  are  not  the  children  of 
the  Prophet,  chap.  i.  4  ff.  (Kurtz),  but  the  chil- 
dren of  the  adulterous  spouse,  Israel  (and  there- 
fore those  who  are  designated  children  of  whore- 
dom, chap.  i.  2).  These  children  are  distinguished 
ideally  from  their  mother,  because  Israel  is  from 
one  point  of  view  regarded  as  the  spouse.  Israel 
viewed  as  a  unit  is  the  mother:  the  children  then 
represent  the  individual  Israelites  (the  mother  can 
Hot  be  conceived  as  existing  without  the  children). 
The  children  are  now  to  plead  with  their  mother. 
But  this  does  not  mean  that  a  part  of  Israel  did 
not  serve  idols,  so  that  the  better  disposed  among 
he  people  would  be  addressed  (Keil,  et  al.).  This 
;vould  conflict  with  what  has  been  said  of  the  rela- 
ion  between  the  mother  and  the  children.  The 
:hildrjn  are  conceived  of  as  those  who  have  to 
i>'ead    misfortune   on    account   cf   the    prevailing 


"  whoredom."  They,  in  fact,  however,  represent 
just  what  the  mother  does ;  they  are  to  suffer  the 
same  punishment  with  her,  though  in  ver.  6  the 
punishment  is  as  yet  only  mentioned  expressly  as 
that  about  to  fall  upon  the  children.  But  the  dis- 
tinction made  between  the  mother  and  the  children 
is  only  a  rhetorical  mode  of  presentation  resorted 
to  for  the  purpose  of  casting  upon  the  mother, 
through  the  children,  the  reproach  that  she  by  her 
conduct  was  bringing  misfortune  upon  them,  and 
thus  persuading  her  to  abandon  her  lewdness.  Not 
as  though  the  children  had  acted  differently  from 
the  mother,  but  now  when  the  punishment  is  to  be 
presented,  the  complaint  is  naturally  directed 
against  the  latter.  For  if  the  children  have  sinned, 
they  have  followed  their  mother  in  doing  so.  She  is 
the  really  guilty  one  in  this  punishment.  The  chil- 
dren are  comparatively  innocent,  and  have  been 
only  seduced,  and  yet  they  must  suffer  like  their 
mother !  And  then  they  must  participate  in  the 
sufferings  which  the  mother  endures  for  her  own 
sins.  They  are  therefore  the  ones  who  should  be 
represented  as  pleading  with  the  mother.  This 
mode  of  representation  is  not  pursued  beyond  the 
beginning  of  the  chapter.  For  she  is  not  my 
wife,  expresses  well  the  sin  of  the  mother.  It  is  as 
though  Jehovah  had  said  :  "  It  is  her  sin  that  she 
deports  herself  as  one  who  could  not  be  my  wife, 
and  whose  husband  I  could  not  be,  and  I  cannot 
look  upon  myself  any  more  as  her  husband."  The 
next  member  of  the  verse  shows  the  cause  of  this 
feeling,  for  it  is  the  conduct  of  the  mother  that  gives 
occasion  to  the  children  to  upbraid  her.  The  pun- 
ishment would  be  :  I  know  her  no  longer  as  my 
wife,  and  will  be  her  husband  no  longer.  But  pun- 
ishment is  not  introduced  before  ver.  5  —  "Oni. 

The  ^"^i  involves  the  demand  to  cease  from  the 
present  conduct.  This  conduct  is  "  whoredom," 
but  in  the  case  of  a  wife  it  is  also  more,  it  is  "  adul- 
tery." From  her  face  —  from  between  her 
breasts.  The  whoredom  (idolatry)  of  Israel  is 
thus  not  secret,  but  is  done  openly.  Israel  is  like 
a  public  barefaced  whore,  who  displays  her  profes- 
sion in  her  face  and  (bared)  breasts. 

Ver.  5.  The  demand  is  supported  by  calling  at- 
tention to  the  punishment.  Lest  I  strip  her 
naked.  This  is  perhaps  connected  with  the  fore- 
going so  as  to  =  as  a  punishment  for  the  shame- 
less exposure  of  her  person  which  she  wantonly 
practices,  strip  her  bare  in  a  way  she  does  not  like 
and  of  which  she  would  be  ashamed.  Divested 
of  the  figure  the  expression  would  mean  :  lest  I 
take  from  her  everything  that  I  have  given  her 
and  reduce  her  to  the  condition  in  which  she  was 
before  I  delivered  her  and  made  her  what  she  now 
is  (comp.  Ezek.  xvi.  4  ff.)  The  prophet  now  turns 
to  this  earlier  condition  with  the  words  :  as  in 
the  day  of  her  birth.  Primarily  tiis  is  an  image 
of  nakedness  =  like  a  new-born  chi  d,  but  not  sim 


3(5 


HOSEA. 


ply  =  without  clothing,  but  =  divested  of  every- 
thing, stripped  of  all  she  can  call  her  own.  Thus 
was  Israel  on  the  day  of  its  birth.  This  birth 
took  place  when  Israel  was  chosen  to  be  the  people 
of  God.  According  to  chap.  xi.  1,  this  was  done 
in  Egypt.  Israel  was  there  naked,  for  it  dwelt  as 
an  oppressed  nation  of  slaves  without  a  country. 
And  make  her  like  a  wilderness,  that  is,  reduce 
her  to  a  situation  where  the  necessaries  of  life  are 
wanting  as  they  are  to  those  in  a  desert,  so  that 
they  die  of  hunger ;  and  like  a  parched  land,  that 
is,  a  place  in  which  there  is  no  water,  so  that  she 
may  "  die  of  thirst."  This  dying  of  thirst  is  only 
mentioned  because  her  situation  is  compared  to  a 
desert ;  and  the  general  sense  is  =  reduce  her  to  a 
situation  of  utter  destitution  from  a  condition  of 
great  abundance.  A  reference  to  Israel's  sojourn 
in  the  desert  cannot  be  well  disproved  (as  by  Keil) 
along  with  the  mention  of  the  day  of  her  birth. 
Israel,  it  is  true,  was  supplied  with  food  and  water 
by  God.  But  the  desert  itself  had  neither  food 
nor  drink,  as  Israel  felt  only  too  keenly.  And 
that  desert  is  an  image  of  the  condition  to  which 
Israel  is  to  be  reduced  by  God. 

Ver.  6.  And  will  not  have  compassion  upon 
her  children.  This  verse  is  in  sense  still  depend- 
ent upon  "J5  of  ver.  5.  The  want  of  compassion 
is  a  consequence  of  the  conduct  of  the  mother, 
but  may  be  turned  away  by  conversion.  Even 
the  children  shall  share  the  same  lot,  that  is,  all 
individually ;  none  are  to  suppose  that  they  shall 
escape  punishment,  —  for  they  are  children  of 
whoredom.  Because  they  are  begotten  of  whore- 
dom and  also  witnesses  of  it,  the  Lord  who  is  to 
punish  his  adulterous  spouse  cannot  endure  them. 
Still  the  question  of  chap.  i.  2  repeats  itself  here, 

whether  2T  "\22  are  not  rather :  children  who 
commit  whoredom.  This  is  most  natural,  for  the 
children  are  in  fact  identical  with  the  mother. 

Vers.  7-9.  Because  their  mother  hath  practiced 
whoredom  —  it  was  better  with  me  then  than 

now.  The  last  explanation  given  of  3T  "02 
would  certainly  be  incorrect  if  ver.  7  were  an  ex- 
planation of  ver.  6  6=  They  are  children  of 
whoredom,  for  their  mother,  etc.  But  such  an 
explanation,  continued  too  in  the  parallelism  (ver. 
7  a,  and  b),  would  make  the  sense  extremely  pro- 
lix. The  same  remark  would  apply  if  the  verse 
were  coordinate  to  ver.  6  b,  and  supported  it  along 
with  ver.  6  a.  Besides,  this  expression  concerning 
the  mother's  sin  would  not  be  appropriate  as  jus- 
tifying the  punishment  threatened  against  the  chil- 
dren. The  solution  is  to  be  found  in  the  wider 
scope  of  ver.  7.  For  here  the  thought  is  so  en- 
larged that  it  cannot  be  regarded  simply  as  an  ex- 
planation of  ver.  6,  and  at  the  same  time  coordi- 
nate to  the  second  member  of  that  verse.  Such  a 
view  supposes  that  if  that  verse  is  an  explanation, 
ver.  7  must  be  so  also.  The  thought  is,  however, 
evidently  an  independent  one.  Nor  does  it  refer 
backwards,  but,  as  its  contents  show,  it  reaches 
forward  and  is  therefore  rather  to  be  connected 
with  vers.  8,  9.  (So  Meier ;  even  the  Vulgate  and 
Luther  have  detached  it  from  ver.  6.)  [So  also 
Henderson,  and  Cowles  in  his  exposition  though 

not  in  his  translation.  —  M.]  —  nttTOln  here 
not  =  to  become  a  disgrace,  but  =  to  commit 
Bhame.  Luther :  conduct  herself  shamefully.  — 
Who  gave  my  bread,  etc.  =  food,  clothing,  and 
the  enjoyments  of  life  (Keil),  comp.  Jer.  xliv.  17  ff. 
We  may  refer  this  to  a  condition  of  things  which 


actually  prevailed  in  Israel  (comp.  also  ver.  16) 
If  it  did  exist  along  with  idolatry,  it  would  be  nat- 
urally suggested  that  it  was  due  to  the  idols.  In 
the  figurative  representation  it  is  the  reward  which 
the  adulteress  received  from  her  paramours  (comp 
ver.  14).  [Keil :  "  This  delusive  idea  entertained 
by  the  wife  arose  from  the  sight  of  the  heathen 
i  nations  round  about,  who  were  rich  and  mighty, 
and  attributed  this  to  their  gods."  —  M.] 

Ver.  8.  Therefore  behold,  I  hedge  up  her 
way  with  thorns.  The  hedging  up  of  the  way, 
strengthened  in  the  parallel  member  by  the  figure 
of  raising  up  a  wall,  means  in  general  to  place  an 
obstacle  in  the  way,  to  set  up  a  wall  of  separation, 
and  that  evidently  between  the  wife  and  the  para- 
mours, Israel  and  the  idols,  so  that  the  alliance 
between  them  will  be  dissolved.  This  is  shown 
further  by  the  words  :  and  she  will  not  find  the 
path  to  them,  and  also  in  ver.  9.  This  causa  diri- 
mens  is  here  intentionally  referred  to  only  in  a 
general  way,  in  a  sort  of  enigmatical  allusion.  The 
"  that  "  is  expressed  only  once  with  its  immediate 
sequence  in  ver.  9.  The  "  how  "  does  not  appear 
till  ver.  11  ff.  It  is  already  hinted  at  in  the  con- 
clusion of  ver.  9.  It  is  the  feeling  of  distress  in 
strong  contrast  to  the  situation  just  extolled  so 
highly  as  the  gift  of  the  idols.  This  privation 
must  itself  excite  doubts  as  to  the  power  of  the 
idols,  and  still  more  must  their  impotence  in  the 
midst  of  her  distress.  Israel  would  indeed  become 
at  first  more  ardent  in  its  worship  of  idols;  to 
"  pursue  "  after  them,  etc.,  the  more  their  prosper- 
ity was  regarded  as  their  gift,  the  more  would 
they  be  missed.  But  "  she  will  not  reach  them 
and  will  not  find  them."  It  is  represented,  as 
though  outwardly  it  were  no  longer  possible  to. 
hold  intercouse  with  the  idols.  This  mode  of  rep- 
resentation, however,  is  connected  only  with  the 
image  of  raising  a  hedge,  etc.,  something  which 
effects  an  external  separation.  But  the  expres- 
sion is  very  suitable,  especially  as  the  idols  de- 
noted by  the  paramours,  prove  themselves  to  be 
a  mere  phantom,  dead  nothings,  just  when  men 
turn  to  them  for  help.  They  are  therefore  really 
not  found.  Such  experience  of  the  nothingness 
of  idols  then  awakens  again  a  longing  after  Jeho- 
vah as  the  One,  in  whom  alone  help  is  to  be  found, 
a  longing  after  the  good  bestowed  by  Him  upon 
his  people.  The  discourse  here  is  just  ready  to 
pass  over  into  the  thought  that  this  punishment  is 
a  chastening  to  lead  to  conversion  (vers.  16  ft'.),  but 
upon  the  mention  of  former  prosperity,  it  turns 
again  to  complaint,  in  order  to  complete  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  punishment  merited  by  the 
ungrateful  forgetfulness  of  the  giver  of  such  pros- 
perity. This  is  continued  till  ver.  15.  [lleng- 
stenberg :  "  There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  by  the 
hedging  and  walling  about,  severe  sufferings  are 
intended,  by  which  the  people  are  encompassed, 
straitened,  and  hindered  in  every  free  movement. 
Eor   sufferings   appear  constantly  as  the  specific 

against   Israel's   apostasy  from   God We 

can  by  no  means  think  of  an  external  obstacle. 
Outwardly  there  was,  during  the  exile,  and  in  the 
midst  of  idolatrous  nations,  a  stronger  temptation 
to  idolatry  than  they  had  in  their  native  land. 
Hence  we  can  think  of  an  internal  obstacle  only, 
and  then  again,  only  of  an  absolute  incapacity  of 
the  idols  to  grant  to  the  people  consolation  and 
relief  in  their  sufferings.  If  this  incapacity  is  first 
ascertained  by  experience,  men  lose  their  confi- 
dence in  them,  and  seek  help  wheie  alone  it  is  to 
found."  —  M.] 

Vers.  10-12.    She  knew  not,  etc.     The  refer 


CHAPTER  II.  4-25. 


jnce  is  to  ver.  7.  Israel  had  shamefully  ascribed 
to  the  idols  what  they  owed  to  God.  That  God 
was  the  Giver  they  must  have  been  inwardly  con- 
scious, in  fact  could  have  known  it  from  the  Law ; 
but  they  ignored  this  truth,  denied  it,  and  nat- 
urally so,  because  they  had  departed  from  their 
God.  The  abundance  of  the  natural  productions 
of  the  country  then  led  to  an  abundance  of  silver 
and  gold,   but  —  cutting   reproach — that  which 

they  owed  to  God  V372T?  ^iWS,  probably  ;  they 
employed  it  for  Baal,  not :  they  made  it  a  Baal,  as 
the  article  especially  shows.  "  Employed,"  partly 
in  making  idol  images,  partly  in  the  service  of 
idols.  Baal  may  be  taken  here  for  idols  gener- 
ally, since  the  actual  Baal-worship  was  done  away 
with  bv  Jehu,  though  not  entirely,  comp.  2  Kings 
xiii.  6*(Keil) 

Ver.  11.  Now  the  punishment  is  expressed 
which  was  in  vers.  8,  9,  only  hinted  at,  the  with- 
drawal of  the  good  things  which  had  been  so  en- 
joyed. My  corn  =  the  corn  which  they  received 
from  me.  In  its  time,  that  is,  the  season  when 
corn  and  wine  are  expected.  Hence  the  absence 
of  them  was  the  more  distressing,  but  also  more 
significant  and  striking,  showing  itself  to  be  a 
punishment  from  God.  8ir.ee  He  was  not  acknowl- 
edged as  the  Giver  when  He  gave  them,  He  will 
manifest  Himself  more  clearly  as  such  in  taking 
them  away.  Which  was  to  cover  her  naked- 
ness. The  resulting  want  should  be  complete, 
its  consequence  ignominious  bareness  =  utter  des- 
titution. And  then  will  I  uncover  her  shame. 
=  her  lovers  (idols)  shall  also  look  upon  her 
nakedness  to  her  disgrace.  She  would  become  so 
miserable,  that  even  they  shall  despise  her,  though 
she  once,  held  herself  so  highly  with  them. 

Vers  13-15.  And  I  will  bring  to  an  end  all 
her  joy,  etc.  A  still  more  definite  indication  of 
the  punishment  before  threatened.  All  joy  must 
cease.  But  joy  culminates,  and  has  its  purest  ex- 
pression in  the  festivals,  the  yearly  feasts,  strictly 

speaking.  2n.  Upon  these  follows  the  monthly 
feast,  that  of  the  new  moon,  and  the  weekly  one, 
that  of  the  Sabbath.  iTHpE'Tp  then  gathers 
all  these  up  in  one  general  expression.  Even  dur- 
ing the  prevalence  of  idolatry  the  feast-days  prob- 
ably remained  outwardly  the  same  as  before. 

Ver.  14.  The  devastation  mentioned  here  is 
probably  intended  to  follow  up  the  cessation  of 
joy ;  for  the  vine  and  the  fig  tree  are  the  finest 
productions  of  Canaan,  not  necessary  to  the  sup- 
port of  life,  but  affording  the  choicest  delicacies 
(comp.  Joel  i.  7-12).  [Henderson  :  "  These  nouns 
are  to  be  taken  as  collectives,  or  rather,  as  Horsley 
suggests,  as  plantations  of  vines  and  fig  trees. 
These  should  be  left  uncultivated  on  the  removal 
of  the  inhabitants  to  a  foreign  region,  comp.  Is.  v. 
6  ;  yii.  23,  24.  —  M.] 

Ver.  15.  And  will  visit  upon  her  the  days  of 
Baal,  that  is,  the  feast-days  just  mentioned,  for 
they  were  celebrated  in  honor  of  Baal,  and  not  of 
Jehovah.  And  put  on  her  ring,  etc.  This  is  an 
expression  which  in  its  strictness  belongs  only  to 
the  image ;  for  Israel  is  compared  to  a  coquettish 
prostitute,  who  is  in  the  habit  of  thus  adorning  her- 
lelf.  Yet  there  may  be  allusion  to  the  festal  at- 
tire worn  at  the  idol-feasts.  And  forgot  me.  A 
lharp  and  mournful  contrast  to  the  vain  adorn- 
ments of  the  prostitute.  For  the  sake  of  the  par- 
amours she  was  never  weary  of  decking  herself 
Out ;  but  no  more  thought  of  Jehovah.  It  is  plain 
fcow  completely  this   whole   threatening  was   ful- 


filled by  the  Assyrian  invasion.  Yet  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  this  itself  is  not  threatened  here, 
and  still  less  banishment.  In  general,  no  enemj 
is  yet  named,  at  least  none  definitely,  but  only  the 
laying  waste  of  the  land.  [Henderson  :  "  Their 
entirely  abandoning  themselves  to  the  service  of 
idols,  and  their  dereliction  from  the  God  of  their 
fathers,  are  brought  forward  at  the  conclusion  of 
this  description  of  their  conduct,  in  order  to 
heighten  the  aggravation  of  their  guilt,  and  ren- 
der the  announcement  of  the  kindly  disposition  of 
Jehovah  toward  them,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fol- 
lowing verse,  the  more  surprising." — M.] 

B.  Announcement  of  the  Conversion  of  Israel  and 
the  beneficent  Renewal  of  the  Covenant. 

Vers.  16-19.    Therefore  behold  I  will  allure 

her,  etc.  *|.-?t  •  ^e  nave  na'l  tn's  w°rd  twice  al- 
ready in  a  similar  construction  (vers.  8  and  11) 
with  the  sense :  because  Israel  has  transgressed, 
therefore  God  will  punish  them.  "J37  also  here 
naturally  means  :  therefore.  Every  other  explana- 
tion, such  as  varuntamen,  or  prqfecto,  is  arbitrary, 
and  has  arisen  from  the  embarrassment  occasioned 
by  the  difficulty  which  a  "therefore"  causes  in 
this  connection  ;  for  it  is  not  clear  from  what  a 
concision  is  drawn,  whether  from  their  sin  or 
from  their  punishment  or  from  their  sudden  desire 
to  return  (ver.  9).  Nor  is  it  clear  what  conclusion 
is  drawn,  whether  punishment  or  a  display  of  love. 
As  regards  the  first  question  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  the  mention  of  Israel's  sin  immediately  pre- 
cedes (ver.  15  at  the  end),  while  their  punishment 
had  been  previously  described,  whose  converting 
influence  ver.  9  had  already  indicated.  The  ex- 
pression :  I  will  allure  her,  might  certainly  form  a 
contrast  to  the  words  :  she  forgot  me  =  while  she 
forgets  me,  I  am  mindful  of  her  and  recall  her  to 
my  thoughts.  But  the  whole  can  hardly  be  merely 
an  inference  from  what  is  said  at  the  close  of  ver. 
15,  for  the  reference  to  the  sin  is  there  only  inci- 
dental and   subordinate  to  the  description  of  the 

punishment.  }TT>  therefore  draws  an  inference 
not  from  Israel's  sin  in  itself,  but  from  that  sin  as 
being  punished,  and  punished  not  without  sever- 
ity, as  was  before  plainly  stated.  Hence  we  find 
that  1  j?  introduces  a  conclusion  drawn  from  the 
contents  of  the  whole  preceding  section  =  there- 
fore because  Israel  has  been  punished  for  her  sin 
and  forgetfulness  of  me,  and  has  been  so  reduced 
to  a  condition  of  distress  that  she  longs  after  hap 
piness  in  communion  with  me,  I  will  allure  her, 
etc.  This  reference  to  the  whole  of  the  preceding 
is  certainly  justified  in  our  verse,  since  the  dis- 
course evidently  takes  here  a  new  direction.  If 
this  is  the  sense  of  ")37,  the  conclusion  which  is 
drawn  is  not  an  announcement  of  punishment, 
against  which  the  expression,  "I  will  allure  her" 
is  decisive,  but  an  exhibition  of  love,  and  yet  such 
a  display  as  is  virtually  determined  by  the  sin  that 
is  punished,  and  which  is  connected  immediately 
with  the  punishment,  in  order  to  foster  those  first 
motions  of  longing  into  a  steadfast  resolution 
to  return.  [Pocock,  Newcome,  Noyes,  and  Hen- 
derson translate :  nevertheless,  notwithstanding. 
They  failed  to  discern  the  inner  connection  be- 
tween the  passages  divided  by  this  particle,  which, 
in  fact,  never  has  the  meaning  they  assign  to  it. 
Cowles  reaches  the  right  conclusion,  though  not 
upon  exegetical  grounds :  •'  Some  have  found  a 
difficulty  here,  inasmuch  as  the  grievous  sins  of 
Israel  seem  to  be  no  natural  reason  for  giving  the 
blessings   hereafter  promised.      But   the  reasons. 


38 


HO  SEA. 


riewed  fundamentally,  lie  deeper  than  the  sins  of 
Israel,  even  in  God's  covenant  love  and  faithful- 
n<  ss.  He  cannot  bear  that  his  own  Israel  should 
sink  hopelessly  under  her  sins  into  ruiu.  There- 
fore his  pity  moves  Him  to  discipline  and  to 
mercy."     So  also  Pusey  with  most  of  the  German 

Expositors M.]      And     lead     her    into    the 

desert :  not  as  a  punishment,  for  the  allusion  is 
to  the  leading  of  the  children  of  Israel  into  the 
desert  by  Moses  (comp.  ver.  17).  But  this  was 
really  a  "deliverance,  namely,  from  the  afflictions 
<>t  Egypt.  At  first  it  is  such  only  negatively,  im- 
plying that  they  will  no  longer  continue  in  such 
distress.  They  are  not  yet  in  Canaan.  Even  the 
desert  brought  want  and  destitution  with  it:  and 
this  is  brought  first  into  view  here.  In  so  far  the 
situation  indicated  by  the  leading  into  the  desert 
coincides  actually  and  outwardly  with  the  punish- 
ment by  affliction  and  calamity  pictured  in  ver.  11 
(the  "  wilderness  "  is  the  realization  of  that  which 
is  threatened  in  vers.  11  ff. ).  But  this  situation  is 
presented  here  also  under  another  point  of  view, 
namely  (as  being  compared  with  the  wanderers  in 
the  desert  under  Moses),  that  of  a  situation  while 
surrounded  with  affliction  yet  leading  in  truth  to 
deliverance,  and  the  idea  of  punishment  is  thereby 
converted  into  that  of  chastisement.  For  the  des- 
titution felt  in  the  desert  meant  here  had  its  defi- 
nite disciplinary  aim,  —  to  shut  up  the  people  to 
the  discovery  of  their  need  of  help,  and  to  lead 
them  to  faith  in  God  through  the  help  and  gra- 
cious guidance  which  they  then  experienced.  Thus 
they  in  the  desert,  even  though  encompassed  with 
need,  were  still  upon  the  way  to  Canaan,  the  land 
of  blessings,  and  salvation.  This  is  made  plain 
from  what  follows  :  And  speak  to  her  heart  = 
comfort  her  (comp.  e.  g.  Gen.  xxxiv.  .3 ;  1.  21  ;  Is. 
xl.  2).  These  words  imply  an  inward  consolation 
by  manifestations  of  love  which  immediately  fol- 
low—  the  blessings  that  were  withdrawn  are  again 
supplied. 

Ver.  17.  And  I  will  give  her  her  vineyards 
from  thence  =  from  the  desert,  so  that  they,  as 
soon  as  they  shall  have  passed  the  limits  of  Canaan, 
shall  receive  them,  that  is,  the  vineyards  which  Is- 
rael once  possessed  but  had  lost  (ver.  14),  there- 
tore  :  her  vineyards.  What  happened  once  is  a 
type  of  that  which  shall  happen  again.  And  the 
Valley  of  Achor  for  a  door  of  hope.  The  Valley 
of  Achor  here  comes  into  view :  ( 1 )  on  account 
of  its  appellative  signification  :  valley  of  trouble, 
affliction  (Is.  vii.  25).  This  shall  be  made  agate 
of  hope  (a  valley— a  natural  gate):  therefore  a 
transformation  of  mourning  into  joy  ;  (2)  but  also 
on  account  of  its  position  near  the  border  of  Ca- 
naan. For  Israel  is  conceived  of  as  marching  out 
of  the  desert  into  Canaan.  It  remains  a  question 
whether  the  occasion  of  the  name  is  also  to  be  taken 
into  account.  In  this  valley  the  anger  of  God  was 
appeased  by  the  stoning  of  Achan,  and  was  re- 
moved from  Israel  to  give  place  to  renewed  favor. 
Through  that  which  then  happened  to  Achan,  this 
\  alley  became  a  door  of  hope  to  Israel,  which  lay 
exposed  to  the  anger  of  God.  And  this  again  sets 
forth  the  thought  that  punishment,  affliction,  shall 
become  to  them  the  way  to  renewed  favor.  The 
conception  is  more  profound  than  if  it  merely  set 
forth  a  change  from  one  situation  to  another.  But 
the  image  and  the  thing  represented  are  not  exact 
counterparts  Here  Israel  is  the  party  who  is  pun- 
ished and  is  again  to  find  favor.  But  there  Israel 
Snds  favor  through  the  punishment  of  a  single  in- 
dividual. [Hengstenberg  :  "  The  people  whm  they 
uitered  into  ('ana in  were  immediately  deprived  of 


the  favor  of  God  by  the  transgression  of  an  indi 
vidual — Achan,  —  which  was  only  a  single  fruit 
from  the  tree  of  the  sin  which  was  common  to  all 
But  God  himself  in  his  mercy  made  known  the 
means  by  which  his  lost  favor  might  be  regained ; 
and  thus  the  place  which  seemed  to  be  the  door  ot 
destruction  became  the  door  of  hope  .  .  .  This  par- 
ticular dealing  of  God,  however,  is  based  upon  his 
nature,  and  must  therefore  repeat  itself  when  Israel 
again  comes  into  similar  circumstances."  —  M.] 

And  she  shall  shout  aloud  thither.  The  Lord 
comes  to  meet  Israel  (comp.  ver.  16  :  shall  comfort 
her) ;  and  Israel  cries  out  towards  the  plaee  whence 

he  comes  forth,  looking  back  to  the  EtE'E.  The 
meaning  is,  that  with  thankful  acknowledgments 
she  accepts  these  tokens  of  his  love ;  not  only  re- 
ceives them  but  answers  to  them  by  suitable  con- 
duct. Others  suppose  that  ""J-J?  means  here  :  to  be 
afflicted,  or  to  be  humbled.     But  such  a  sense  is 

unsuitable  in  this  verse.     Besides,  i""^^  would  be 

equal  to  simple  Dtt7.  [The  view  given  above  as  tc 
the  meaning  of  this  clause,  and  adopted  by  most 
of  the  German  expositors,  is  defended  at  length 
by  Hengstenberg,  and  is  probably  the  correct  one. 
All  the  English  expositors,  on  the  other  hand,  fol- 
low the  old  explanation  which  translates  the  verb  : 
to  sing,  and  see  a  special  allusion  to  the  song  of 
Miriam  and  the  Israelites  after  the  crossing  of  the 
Red  Sea.  The  chief  arguments  in  favor  of  the 
former  view  are,  (1.)  The  greater  fitness  of  the 
idea  of  "  answering,"  as  exhibiting  a  change  of 
character  in  the  Israelites  and  their  readiness  to 
turn  to  God.  Singing  would  merely  indicate  that 
their  distress  was  removed,  which  was  not  the  ulti- 
mate object  of  God's  dealing  with  them.  (2.)  The 
meaning,  "  answering,"  is  the  leading  usage  of  the 
Kai;  that  of  singing  is  proper  to  the  Piel.     (3.) 

77&W  ought  to  be  rendered  "  thither,"  which  suits 
the  idea  of  answering,  especially  as  explained  above, 
but  not  that  of  singing. — M.]  As  on  the  day, 
etc.  Perhaps  there  is  an  allusion  here  to  the  song 
of  Moses  (Ex.  xv. ),  in  which  Israel  gave  a  grateful 
answer  to  the  deliverance  which  God  had  wrought 
for  them.  7721?  would  then  be  rendered  directly  : 
sing.  So  the  Vulgate  and  Luther  (comp.  1  Sam. 
xviii.  7;  xxi.  11  ;  xxix.  5,  to  strike  up  a  respon- 
sive song).  Yet  the  general  signification  is  prob- 
ably to  be  preferred. 

Ver.  18  is  then  attached  to  this  PT337.  My  hus- 
band. That  is,  she  will  recognize  in  Jehovah  her 
true  spouse,  regard  Baal  no  longer  as  combined 
with  God,  thus  (by  a  convenient  escamotage.  so  nat- 
ural to  the  human  heart  which  becomes  inwardly 
apostate  from  God)  to  all  appearance  calling  upon 
Jehovah,  but  really  putting  Baal  in  his  place  and 
thus  dispossessing  Him. 

Ver.  19.  And  I  will  remove  the  name  of 
Baal  from  her  mouth  =  I  will  so  act  that  thou 
shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  idols  into  thy  mouth 
any  longer,  that  is,  shalt  not  honor  them  (for  as 
long  as  they  are  honored  they  are  taken  into  the 
mouth,  are  thought  of),  but  wilt  depart  from  them 
entirely,  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  them.  The 
promise  is  a  literal  fulfillment  of  Ex.  xxiu.  i3; 
(comp.  also  Zech.  xiii.  2),  and  expressed  in  th? 
same  words. 

Vers.  20-22.  And  I  will  make  a  covenant 
for  them  in  that  day,  etc.  A  cover  ant  for  them, 
in  their  interest,  so  that  they  shall  suffer  no  injury 
Observe  here  how  the  figure  of  the  tvoman  as  ad 


CHAPTER  II.  4-25. 


39 


dressed  is  here  departed  from,  only  to  be  returned 
to  in  the  next  verse.  The  covenant  with  the  wild 
beasts  lays  upon  them  the  obligation  not  to  injure 
mankind,  and  especially  not  to  lay  waste  the  land. 
That  punishment  was  threatened  for  the  immedi- 
ate future  (comp  ver.  14).  Just  for  that  reason 
it  is  now  promised  to  the  converted  and  favored 
people  that  they  shall  be  defended  from  it.  [Keil  : 
"  The  three  classes  of  animals  that  are  dangerous 
to  men  are  mentioned  here,  as  in  Gen.  ix.  2. 
Beasts  of  the  field  as  distinguished  from  the  do- 
mestic animals  (behemoth  are  beasts  that  live  in 
freedom  in  the  fields,  either  wild  beasts,  or  game 
that  devours  or  injures  the  fruits  of  the  field).  By 
the  fowls  of  heaven,  we  are  to  understand  chiefly 
the  birds  of  prey.  Reims  does  not  mean  reptiles, 
but  active  creatures,  the  smaller  animals  of  the 
earth  which  move  about  swiftly."  —  M.J  And  I 
will  break  bow  and  sword  and  war.  To  break 
the  weapons  of  war  means  to  cause  war  to  cease 
forever.  This  is  expressly  intimated  in  what  is 
attached  here  by  a  zeugma.  To  break  war  in 
pieces,  —  to  break  bow  and  sword,  and  so  to  put 
an  end  to  war.  The  whole  is  the  fulfillment  of  Lev. 
xxvi.  3  ff. ;  comp.  Is.  ii.  4  ;  xi.  6  ft. ;  xxxv.  9 ; 
Zech.  ix.  10  ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  25  ff.  And  not  merely 
will  a  condition  of  security  and  peace  be  afforded, 
but  also  that  after  which  Israel  longs  (ver.  18)  will 
be  given,  namely,  intercourse  with  God.  Upon 
this  alone  is  Israel's  renewed  prosperity  based. 

And  I  will  betroth  thee  to  me  forever.  A 
new  marriage-contract  is  to  be  signed.  Israel 
now  converted,  becomes  altogether  different,  is 
regarded  again  as  an  unstained  virgin,  and  is  be- 
trothed by  God  to  Himself.  What  formerly  exist- 
ed,  that  she  was  once  a  faithless  spouse,  is  left 

quite  out  of  sight.  For  ^*!:^  means  :  to  woo  a 
maiden,  to  betroth  her.  The  words,  "  I  will  be- 
troth her,"  are  thrice  repeated,  to  take  all  doubt 
away  from  the  statement.  This  covenant  is  now 
to  last  forever  without  any  interruption  —  in  right- 
eousness and  justice,  in  mercy  and  compassion. 
We  are  evidently  to  understand  here  the  right- 
eousness which  is  displayed  in  Jehovah's  appear- 
ing to  favor  his  people  and  defending  their  cause 
against  their  enemies,  from  whose  power  he  deliv- 
ers them.  Such  righteousness  and  judgment  are, 
with  relation  to  the  enemies,  only  negative,  that 
is,  they  are  displayed  in  punishing  them ;  but,  with 
relation  to  God's  people,  positive,  so  that  right- 
eousness really  bears  the  sense  of  salvation,  deliv- 
erance. In  so  far  Luther  is  right,  when  he  holds 
that  such  righteousness  is  the  imputed  righteous- 
ness of  Christ.  For  there  is  certainly  presented 
the  notion  of  God's  intervention  to  bestow  favor 
upon  man,  and  therefore  of  an  act  of  justification, 
only  not  at  first  as  connected  with  the  accusings 
of  conscience  by  reason  of  guilt,  but  in  relation 
to  God's  punitive  judgments  against  sin.  These, 
so  to  speak,  lose  the  right  to  destroy  God's  people 
any  longer,  because  they  are  accepted  by  Him  as 
converted.  Keil  explains  the  words  as  meaning, 
the  righteous  judgment  by  which  God  purifies  his 
people,  in  order  to  eradicate  everything  which,  on 
the  side  of  the  Church,  could  do  prejudice  to  the 
'.ovenant.  But  the  discourse  has  already  passed 
beyond  this.  The  judgment  has  been  already  in- 
flicted, and  we  are  now  upon  the  ground  of  the 
complete  promises  of  salvation,  when  God  no  more 
appears  against  his  people,  but  interferes  in  their 
behalf  in  accordance  with  the  purification  which 
Has  been  effected.  The  disDOsition  of  mind  in  God 
represented  by  this  righteousness  and  judgment  is 


still  further  brought  out  by  the  two  words  :  in 
mercy  and  compassion.  Every  idea  of  an  interven- 
tion of  God  in  his  people's  behalf  upon  the  ground 
of  their  merit  is  thus  excluded.  What  God  exer- 
cises towards  them  is  purely  favor  and  compassion. 

Ver.  22.  But  these  shall  never  cease.  Hence 
the  addition  :  in  faithfulness.  Only  thus  does  this 
engagement  receive  the  pledge  of  its  eternal  dura- 
tion, while  by  the  preceding  generally  the  possi- 
bility of  its  ratification  is  set  forth.  Righteousness 
and  judgment,  favor  and  compassion,  are  the  con- 
ditio sine  qua  non  and  causa  efficiens ;  faithfulness 
is  the  essential  modus  of  the  engagement.  The  end 
then  is :  And  thou  shalt  know  Jehovah.  No 
interruption  of  such  relation  shall  ever  intervene 
between  Jehovah  and  Israel ;  upon  the  establish- 
ment of  such  intercourse,  a  true  knowledge  of  God 
will  be  imparted.  This  naturally  does  not  mean 
a  mere  cognition  of  God,  least  of  all  a  mere  logical 
conception  of  Him,  —  in  general,  not  a  mere  intel- 
lectual relation  to  Him  based  upon  the  operations 
of  the  understanding,  but  a  personal  living  rela- 
tion, that  deeper  notion  which  is  certainly  some- 
times conveyed  by  "^l^.- 

Vers.  23-25.  And  it  will  be  on  that  day  that 
I  will  answer,  etc.  The  consequence  of  the  cov- 
enant newly  ratified  is  the  readiness  of  God  to  bless 
his  people  most  richly.  The  betrothal  having  been 
accomplished,  the  marriage  presents  are  not  want- 
ing, and  heaven  and  earth,  standing  in  the  servico 
of  the  bridegroom  and  husband,  must  contribute 
their  share.  The  heavens,  etc.,  in  a  descending  se- 
ries, are  represented  as  earnestly  asking  the  person- 
ified objects  above  them  respectively  whether  the 
blessing  which  they  expect  is  to  be  dispensed.  The 
heaveus  ask  Jehovah,  the  earth  the  heavens,  etc., 
or  they  look  towards  them  with  longing.  And 
now  this  questioning,  this  earnest  request  (in  the 
time  of  Israel's  rejection)  is  "  answered  "cordially 
and  assuringly.  In  how  far,  however,  this  original 
sense  of  H237  is  carried  out,  or  whether  it  does 
not  pass  over  into  the  signification  of  our  "  agree 
with"  =  comply,  listen  to,  cannot  be  definitely 
shown.  It  is,  however,  in  accordance  with  the 
largely  poetical  conception  to  assume  here  a  strict 
prosopopoeia.  The  first  object  of  the  representa- 
tion is  Jehovah  ;  therefore  the  sense  of  the  whole 
naturally  is,  that  Jehovah,  upon  whom  all  blessing 
depends,  will  confer  upon  his  Church  the  blessings 
He  had  withdrawn  from  it  (comp.  Deut.  xxviii.  12 
and  the  contrast,  Deut.  xxviii.  23  f. ;  Lev.  xxvi. 
19).  [Keil:  "  By  prosopopoeia  the  prophet  rep- 
resents the  heavens  as  praying  to  God,  to  allow  it 
to  give  to  the  earth  that  which  will  insure  its  fer- 
tility, whereupon  the  heavens  fulfill  the  desires  of 
the  earth,  and  the  earth  yields  its  produce  to  the 
nation."  Umbreit :  "  It  is  as  though  we  heard  the 
exalted  harmonies  of  the  united  powers  of  creation 
sending  forth  their  notes  as  they  are  sustained  and 
moved  by  the  eternal  key-note  of  the  creative  and 
moulding  Spirit."  Henderson  compares  the  per- 
sonification in  Tibullus,  I.,  Eleg.  vii.  25.  The  ex 
treme  beauty  of  the  figure  here  has  often  been 
praised.  —  M.]  Will  answer  Jezreel.  The  nams 
Jezreel  is  here  used  unexpectedly  instead  of  Israel. 
The  same  name  which  symbolized  the  judgment 
upon  Israel  (i.  4)  is  here  employed  directly  to  des- 
ignate the  favored  people  according  to  its  appella- 
tive significance :  God  will  sow,  especially  as  in 
chap.  ii.  2  the  hope  of  victory  was  connected  with 
Jezreel.  Israel  appears  as  the  sowing  of  God,  be- 
cause planted  anew  by  divine  grace,  as  ver.  25 
shows  immediatelv      Thus  tie  first  name  of  evil 


10 


HOSEA. 


omen  is  taken  away  and  converted  into  its  oppo- 
site. The  same  is  true  of  the  other  two  names. 
Israel  will  again  be  called  "Favored,"  and  the 
"  People  of  God,"  because  it  is  his.  It  is  therefore 
said,  beautifully  completing  the  picture,  that  the 
people  again  know  God  as  their  God.  Thus  God's 
renewed  favor,  and  the  people's  new  heart,  go 
hand  in  hand.  On  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise, 
see  the  Doctrinal  Section,  No.  4. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1.  The  whole  tenor  of  our  chapter  presupposes 
chat  Jehovah's  relation  to  Israel  as  his  people  is 
compared  to  a  marriage.  If  we  seek  the  tertium 
comparationis  in  this  comparison,  it  is  manifest 
upon  a  general  view,  that  everything  of  an  acci- 
dental or  external  nature  is  denied  of  this  relation, 
that  it  is  presented  as  a  union  inward,  sacred,  and 
indissoluble,  involving  indefeasible  rights  and  obli- 
gations. But,  more  especially,  there  are  two  ele- 
ments entering  into  the  nature  of  marriage,  which 
form  the  points  of  comparison,  namely,  love,  by 
which  the  husband  is  bound  to  the  wife,  and  its 
correlative  the  requirement  of  fidelity,  or  of  ex- 
clusive reciprocal  affection,  which  He  makes  of 
tier.  Hence  the  relation  of  Jehovah  to  his  people 
is  compared  to  a  marriage  because  his  love  to  Is- 
rael is  as  strong  and  intimate  as  that  of  a  husband 
to  his  wife.  As  the  husband  chooses  the  wife  from 
love,  and  perhaps,  urged  by  love,  takes  a  poor 
maiden  and  raises  her  to  himself,  and  in  his  mar- 
ried life  attests  his  affection  by  being  her  protector 
and  benefactor  who  cannot  show  her  too  many 
evidences  of  his  devotion,  so  is  it  with  Jehovah  to- 
wards his  people  (comp.  vers.  10, 23,  24).  Such  love 
on  the  part  of  the  husband  must  have  as  its  cor- 
relative on  the  part  of  the  wife,  fidelity,  undivided, 
exclusive  affection.  As  certainly  as  the  husband 
should  expect  this  fidelity  from  his  wife,  so  certainly 
shall  Jehovah  expect  it  from  Israel ;  as  strongly  as 
the  wife  is  bound  to  love  him  to  the  exclusion  of 
all  others,  and  as  she  does  basely  violate  this  duty 
by  attaching  herself  to  another,  the  same  is  true 
of  the  relation  of  Israel,  God's  people,  to  Jehovah. 
But  if  unfaithfulness  on  the  part  of  the  wife  is  a 
violation  of  duty,  it  is  also  worthy  of  punishment. 
And  if  the  punishment  (rejection)  of  an  unfaithful, 
adulterous  wife  is  justifiable,  so  also  is  the  punish- 
ment (rejection)  of  God's  faithless  people.  But 
this  is  only  a  chastisement  wrung  from  love,  and 
the  source  of  deep  anguish  to  the  loving  husband. 
Therefore  the  husband  who  loves  his  wife  truly, 
with  a  love  answering  to  the  idea  of  marriage, 
while  angry  at  her  infidelity  and  employing  the 
most  severe  means  to  punish  it,  only  does  so  in 
order  if  possible  to  bring  her  back  to  her  duty  and 
as  the  only  way  to  continue  the  alliance.  Thus  is 
it  with  Jehovah  towards  Israel.  As  his  love  has 
established  the  covenant  with  Israel,  and  displayed 
itself  in  it,  so  does  it  seek  with  its  whole  strength 
to  preserve  it  unbroken  through  all  interruptions, 
—  in  other  words,  to  restore  it. 

2.  The  exhibition  of  God's  relation  to  his  peo- 
ple under  the  figure  of  a  marriage  permits  us,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  draw  an  inference  as  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  marriage  itself.  Such  an  exalted  and 
sacred  relation  could  only  be  thus  represented  un- 
ier  an  exalted  view  of  marriage.  The  lively, 
strong,  unchangeable  love  of  God  to  his  people, 
and  the  demand  of  an  unchangeable  fidelity  an- 
iwering  to  such  love,  and  turning  aside  to  no  other 
•biect,  ill  the  subject  of  the  representation.     This 


marriage  is  necessarily  conceived  of  as  a  relation 
constituted  by  such  love  on  the  part  of  the  husband 
and  such  fidelity  on  the  part  of  the  wife.  Without 
these  it  is  not  contracted  ;  where  these  are  wanting 
or  cease  to  exist,  it  is  shaken  to  its  foundation. 
The  husband  cleaves  in  love  to  his  wife  and  to  none 
other :  true  marriage  is  in  its  very  nature  mono- 
gamic ;  the  wife  must  in  fidelity  belong  to  thit 
husband  and  to  none  other. 

How  severe  is  thus  the  condemnation  of  all  act- 
ual adultery,  and  of  all  unchastity  as  the  source 
of  adultery,  as  read  in  the  strong  complaints 
against  Israel  as  the  unfaithful  wife !  What  a 
spirit  of  moral  purity  and  of  chastity  is  expressed 
here !  We  find  here  already  just  the  view  of  mar- 
riage, and,  on  the  other  side,  of  adultery  and 
whoredom,  which  meets  us  in  the  New  Testament, 
e.  g.,  in  the  writings  of  Paul.  The  prophet  know 
no  better  image  than  that  of  marriage  to  set  forth 
the  depth  and  sacredness  of  Jehovah's  relation  to 
Israel,  and  the  Apostle  knows  no  better  image  than 
the  relation  of  Christ  to  his  Church  to  set  forth 
the  depth  and  sacre'dness  of  the  marriage  union. 

3.  "  She  knew  not  that  I  gave  her,"  etc.  This 
is  perpetually  repeated.  God  blesses  men  with 
good  things  —  undeservedly,  even  when  they  do 
not  serve  Him  but  "  idols."  But  they  do  not 
know  that  it  is  his  hand  from  which  they  receive 
everything.  It  is  just  the  superabundance  of  his 
gifts,  that  makes  them  so  self-exalted  and  com- 
pletely forgetful  of  Him.  God  must  then  change 
this  abundance  into  want,  and  make  presumptuous 
men  feel  their  own  impotence.  And  how  deeply 
God  can  humble  men  !  Such  visitations  are  then 
the  means  by  which  God  draws  them  again  to 
Himself,  teaches  them  to  know  Him,  how  unjust 
and  at  the  same  time  how  foolish  is  their  apostasy 
from  Him,  how  little  their  "  idols  "  can  help  them, 
rather  how  ill  they  reward  them  ;  and  how  good  it 
is,  on  the  other  hand,  to  abide  by  the  service  of 
the  true  God  ( "  it  was  better  with  me  then  than 
now").  The  fruit  of  such  knowledge  by  humil- 
iation is  then  the  abandonment  of  idols  and  a 
turning  to  God. 

4.  That  Hosea  reverts  with  special  fondness  tc 
the  ancient  history  of  Israel  was  already  remarked 
in  §  2  of  the  Introduction,  and  there  shown  to  be 
connected  with  the  fundamental  idea  of  his  pro- 
phetic discourses.  In  the  later  chapters  (from  the 
ninth  onwards)  this  is  specially  apparent :  but  it 
is  also  found  in  our  chapter,  and  thus  in  the  earlier 
portion  of  his  writings.  In  this  he  chiefly  takes 
up  the  great  deeds  by  which  God  manifested  Him- 
self to  the  fathers,  —  the  exodus  from  Egypt,  the 
journey  through  the  Desert,  the  entrance  into  the 
Promised  Land.  These  were  the  great  fundamen- 
tal acts  of  God  in  behalf  of  Israel,  and  were  most 
deeply  impressed  upon  the  consciousness  of  the 
people  ;  for  they  owed  to  these  their  very  existence 
as  his  people,  so  that  they  could  never  forget  them, 
not  even  in  the  season  of  their  greatest  decline. 
Prophetic  discourse  has  in  them  therefore  a  sure,  un 
assailable  foundation  upon  which  to  take  its  stand. 
It  can  point  out  to  the  present,  in  a  manner  not 
to  be  resisted,  the  dealings  of  God  in  his  specific 
relation  to  Israel  his  people,  can  draw  from  thence 
its  most  forcible  arguments  for  its  warning  and 
chastening,  as  well  as  for  its  comfort  and  promises. 
It  has  been  an  advantage  which  it  well  under 
stands  and  knows  well  how  to  use. 

Special  stress  is  in  our  chapter  laid  upon  the 
journey  through  the  desert  as  upon  a  season  of 
great  significance  for  Israel.  Israel  was  in  the  wil 
derness  ■    the    milk    anil    honev  of  the  Promised 


CHAPTER  II.  4-25. 


4i 


Land  were  not  yet;  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt  were 
no  more.  In  the  latter  respect  this  season  was  one 
of  deprivation  and  of  want,  and  apparently  of  loss. 
But  this  was  only  apparent ;  for  in  reality  it  was 
not  only  a  deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt, 
which  had  both  outwardly  and  inwardly  injured 
the  people,  but  God  could  draw  so  much  nearer  to 
the  people  spiritually  as  they  were  now  reduced  to 
corporeal  distress,  and  attest  and  reveal  Himself  to 
them  by  his  helpful  and  blessed  mercy.  It  was 
just  here  that  God  concluded  his  covenant  with 
Israel  and  made  them  his  people,  so  that  their  real 
gain  outweighed  their  apparent  loss ;  and  the  peo- 
ple to  whom  God  betrothed  Himself  was  or  became 
the  people  which  found  itself  upon  the  way  to  the 
Promised  Land.  So  the  Prophet  sees  in  the  pro- 
found and  fruitful  significance  of  this  journey,  or 
rather  of  this  leading  through  the  Desert,  a  type 
of  the  blessing  which  a  removal  into  the  desert  as 
a  chastening  would  convey  to  the  people  who  had 
become  unfaithful  to  their  God.  They  are  deprived 
of  their  possessions,  but  so  only  stripped  of  the  pros- 
perity which  had  made  them  forgetful  of  God,  and 
which  was  therefore  an  evil.  And  now  when  they 
have  these  no  longer,  and  are  thus  freed  from  the 
fetters  which  have  bound  them  spiritually,  when, 
by  foreign  influences,  so  to  speak,  they  are  brought 
face  to  face  with  God,  He  has  again  free  access  to 
them;  the  time  has  come  when  God  can  again 
betroth  Himself  to  the  people  who  again  return 
to  Him,  lead  them  again  into  the  Promised  Land, 
and  restore  them  to  a  state  of  renewed  prosperity 
and  of  richest  blessing. 

Those  then  who  were  led  forth  into  the  Desert 
did  not  realize  the  object  of  that  experience.  Nor 
was  it  individuals  whom  it  was  to  profit,  but  the 
people  as  such.  For  them  the  journey  through  the 
wilderness  was  a  season  of  trial  in  which  they 
were  being  prepared  to  become  God's  people,  who 
should  take  possession  of  the  Promised  Land. 
And  so  in  the  sense  of  the  prophetic  promise  the 
individuals  who  should  suffer  the  judgment  of 
devastation  were  not  the  same  as  those  for  whom 
the  day  of  the  new  salvation  was  to  break  forth. 
That  was  to  be  a  new  generation.  But  the  people 
were  still  the  same,  in  the  sense  to  be  stated  more 
clearly  immediately. 

5.  \Vith  regard  to  the  promise  of  our  chapter 
and  its  fulfillment,  the  remark  made  in  chap.  i.  ap- 
plies, namely,  (a.)  The  fulfillment  is  not  to  be  seen 
in  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  exile.  This  was, 
to  be  sure,  a  fulfillment,  but  only  a  small  and  feeble 
beginning.  For  the  promise  is  to  be  regarded  as 
essentially  Messianic.  And  therefore  we  Chris- 
tians, if  to  us  the  truth  is  fully  and  differently 
realized  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  promised  Mes- 
siah, must  hold  that  this  promise  has  found  its  ful- 
fillment in  Christ,  and  still  finds  it  in  Him ;  that  is, 
in  Christ  the  new  "  betrothal  "  of  God  to  his  peo- 
ple has  already  taken  place  ;  but  the  great  salva- 
tion which  is  involved  in  this  is  as  yet  only  par- 
tially realized,  the  completion  is  yet  to  come.  The 
people  of  God  are  still  marching  through  the  des- 
ert ;  in  Christ  we  are  upon  the  sure  way  to  the 
Promised  Land,  but  that  goal  is  not  yet  reached. 
(b.)  Israel,  to  whom  salvation  is  here  promised  by 
the  Prophet,  comes  into  view,  not  according  to  its 
natural  nationality,  but  according  to  its  divine 
destiny,  or  according  to  its  typical  significance  as 
the  People  of  God.  They  cannot  perish  beneath  any 
judgment :  for  them  a  new  day  of  salvation  is  wait- 
ing. But  as  this  salvation  is  conditioned  upon  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  we  know  clearly  that 
tbe  Messianic  salvation  is  and  shall  be  universal, 


so  we  are  forbidden  to  restrict  this  groat  promised 
day  of  salvation  to  the  external  Israel,  although 
the  Prophet  undenianly  speaks  of  it,  — Israel  and 
God's  people  being  as  yet  to  him  essentially  one,— 
and  must  extend  it  to  the  people  of  God  generally, 
therefore  to  all  believers,  believers  of  Israel  together 
with  those  of  the  Gentiles  incorporated  into  the 
ancient  Church,  which  must  ever  remain  the  parent 
stem.  To  Israel,  who  had  become  "  Not-my-peo- 
pie,"  many  of  the  heathen  who  had  been  "Not 
my-people  "  will  unite  themselves,  and  to  them,  to 
this  whole  complex  "  Not-my-people,"  will  God 
say  :  "  Thou  art  my  people  :  "  and  they  will  say  : 
"  My  God."  So  clearly  and  truly  has  Paul  shown 
that  the  Gentiles  must  first  become  what  Israel 
was,  and  that  they  shall  and  will  really  become 
so,  that  they  shall  actually  overshadow  Israel  and 
so  repair  what  they  had  lost.  If  these  promises 
have  not  found  and  still  do  not  find  their  fulfill- 
ment in  the  literal  interpretation  of  what  is  said 
of  Israel,  it  is  clear  that  it  is  not  a  literal  fulfill- 
ment of  their  contents,  which  speak  of  temporal 
blessings  in  the  Holy  Land,  that  is  to  be  expected. 
Such  limited  blessings  are  inseparably  connected 
with  the  limited  range  of  application ;  but  if  the 
latter,  the  restriction  to  Israel,  is  only  the  shell 
and  not  the  kernel,  so  is  it  with  the  former. 

When  the  people  of  God  were  embodied  in  a  na 
tion,  under  the  Old  Testament,  the  possession  of  a 
definite  country  as  the  inheritance  assigned  them  by 
God  was  something  essential,  and  therefore,  as  the 
desolation  of  the  country  was  a  token  of  the  Di- 
vine anger,  so  its  fruitfulness,  or  in  general  a  state 
of  temporal  prosperity,  was  necessarily  an  indica- 
tion of  the  Divine  favor.  And  so  the  temporal 
blessings  predicted  by  the  Prophet  are  the  tokens 
of  acceptance,  of  the  returning  favor  of  God.  The 
latter,  however,  the  return  of  favor,  is  the  main 
element,  the  kernel  which  remains  after  the  husk 
is  stripped  off.  Yet  the  favor  of  God  manifests 
itself  still  under  the  New  Covenant  in  temporal 
blessings,  while  his  wrath  is  declared  iu  temporal 
punishments.  But  it  does  not  need  to  be  shown 
that  the  complete  abandonment  of  the  notion  of 
a  national  and  local  settlement  in  a  definite  coun- 
try, as  belonging  to  the  conception  of  a  people  of 
God,  went  further  than  this ;  that  the  New  Cov- 
enant opens  up  a  prospect  of  spiritual  and  inward 
blessings  and  enjoyments  of  which  the  former  were 
only  a  thin  shadow ;  and,  in  spite  of  this,  to  insist 
upon  the  literal  sense  is  to  beat  in  the  face  of  the 
New  Covenant,  and  to  deny  to  the  prophetic  prom- 
ises generally  their  lasting  significance.  For  the 
legitimate  consequence  of  such  a  theory  is  to  declare 
that  these  are  not  and  never  shall  be  fulfilled  ;  it  ia 
not  simply  to  dream  of  a  fulfillment  expected  still 
in  the  millennium,  and  to  transfer  to  this  epoch, 
which  is  not  described  any  more  definitely  in  the 
Apocalypse,  conditions  for  which  it  is  felt  that 
room  can  be  found  nowhere  else. 


HOMILEXICAL  AND   PKAUT1CAL. 

God's  testimony  against  this  apostate  people: 
(1)  threatening  them  with  severe  judgment ;  (2) 
and  yet  alluring  them  back  with  glorious  prom- 
ises.— The  judgments  of  God,  (1)  invoked  only  bv 
faithless  apostasy  from  Him  and  base  disowning 
of  his  favor;  (2)  aiming  only  at  the  complete  con- 
version of  the  apostate  and  the  joyful  acceptance 
of  the  converted. 

Ver.  4.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerh :  Believers  are 
bound  to  warn  in  love  their  brothers,  sisters,  oi 


*2 


HOSEA. 


1)arents,  who  are  remiss  in  the  practice  of  true  re- 
igion,  and  to  bring  them  to  the  right  way. 

Ver.  7.  God  is  the  real  Giver  of  all  temporal 
and  spiritual  blessings.  If,  therefore,  thou  hast 
any  want,  seek  its  supply  from  God. 

Lange  :  It  is  much  more  easy  and  pleasant  for 
a  true  child  of  God  to  serve  Him  in  the  enjoyment 
of  his  favor  and  with  inward  peace,  than  it  is  for 
an  untaught  child  of  the  world  to  cleave  to  it  with 
its  restless  service  of  sin. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Crosses  and  obstacles  in 
an  even  course  are  great  blessings,  and  are  so  to  be 
accounted ;  they  are  God's  hedges  to  keep  us  from 
transgressing,  to  restrain  us  from  wandering  out 
of  the  green  pastures,  to  "  withdraw  man  from  his 
purpose  "  (Job  xxxiii.  17),  to  make  the  way  of  sin 
difficult  that  we  may  not  go  on  in  it,  and  to  keep 
us  from  it  whether  we  will  or  not.  We  have  rea- 
son to  bless  God  for  restraining  grace  and  for  re- 
s-training judgment.  God  is  a  bountiful  benefactor 
even  to  those  whom  He  foresees  will  be  ungrateful 
and  unthankful  to  Him.  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.  God  ever  remains  the  Possessor  of  the 
gifts  He  bestows.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk :  It  is  a 
shameful  and  inexcusable  sin  to  misuse  the  gifts 
of  God,  in  order  to  serve  our  evil  desires  or  to  pro- 
mote evil  ends.  It  is  a  great  sin  to  devote  the 
riches,  which  God  bestows,  to  the  service  of  idol- 
atry or  superstition. 

[Pusey  :  Since  "  men  have  as  many  strange 
i,'ods  as  they  have  sins,"  what  do  they  who  seek 
pleasure  or  gain  greatness  or  praise  in  forbid- 
den ways  or  from  forbidden  sources,  than  make 
their  pleasure  or  gain  or  ambition  their  god,  and 
offer  their  time  and  understanding  and  ingenuity 
and  intellect,  yea  their  whole  lives  and  their  whole 
selves,  their  souls  and  bodies,  all  the  gifts  of  God, 
in  sacrifice  to  the  idols  they  have  made  ?  —  M.] 

Ver.  11.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  God  takes 
his  gifts  from  us  when  we  misuse  them.  He  de- 
mands a  heavy  reckoning. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Those  that  abuse  the  mer- 
cies God  gives  them  to  his  dishonor  cannot  expect 
to  enjoy  them  long.  —  M.] 

Ver.  12.  Hengstenberg  :  Him  who  forsakes 
God  for  the  world,  God  puts  to  shame  before  the 
world,  and  that  all  the  more,  the  nearer  he  formerly 
stood  to  Him. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Those  who  will  not  de- 
liver themselves  into  the  hand  of  God's  mercy 
cannot  be  delivered  out  of  the  hand  of  his  jus- 
dee.  —  M.] 

Ver.  14.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk :  Thus  on  ac- 
count of  false  worship  of  God  and  impious  doc- 
trine, are  whole  countries  destroyed  by  the  Lord. 
<),  that  true  zeal  would  animate  the  great  ones  of 
this  world  to  destroy  the  kingdom  of  Satan  every- 
where powerfully,  so  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
may  not  smite  them. 

[Hengstenberg  :  The  sacred  writers  are  not 
ashamed  to  use  a  base  word  for  such  base  traffic. 
They  speak  throughout  of  common  things  in  a 
common  manner;  for  the  vulgar  word  is  the  most 
suitable  for  a  vulgar  thing.  The  morality  of  a 
people  or  of  an  age  may  be  measured  by  their 
speaking  of  a  vulgar  thing  in  a  vulgar  manner,  or 
fie  reverse.  — M.] 

Ver.  15.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk  :  This  is  the 
way  of  the  gracious  and  merciful  God  :  if  He  does 
first  lead  us  into  the  desert  and  make  us  feel  the 
rod  of  his  wrath,  Ha  speaks  kindly  to  us  after- 
wards when  we  repent,  and  applies  his  mercy  to 
onr  stricken  hearts,  which  are  thus  made  more  ca- 
pable of  using  it  aright. 


[Matthew  Henry  :  The  best  way  of  reducing 
wandering  souls  to  God  is  by  fair  means.  By  the 
promise  of  rest  in  Christ  we  are  invited  to  take 
his  yoke  upon  us,  and  the  work  of  conversion  maj 
be  forwarded  by  comforts  as  well  as  by  convictions, 

Pusey  :  God  has  mercy,  not  because  we  deserve 
it,  but  because  we  need  it.  He  draws  us  because  we 
are  so  deeply  sunken.  He  prepares  the  soul  by 
these  harder  means,  and  thus  the  depths  of  her 
misery  cry  to  the  depths  of  his  compassion  :  and 
because  chastisement  alone  would  stupefy  her,  not 
melt  her,  He  changes  his  wrath  into  mercy,  and 
speaks  to  the  heart  which,  for  her  salvation,  He  has 
broken.  —  M.j 

Ver.  17.  Strife  and  tribulation  are  to  believers 
by  God's  grace  a  door  of  hope  (Rom.  v.  4).  It  is 
a  peculiar  and  special  work  for  God's  children  to 
praise  Him  with  mouth,  heart,  and  life,  for  so  many 
blessings  received. 

Pfaff.  Bibelwerk  :  Behold,  O  soul,  the  con- 
sequence of  thy  true  repentance.  Thou  hast  new 
hope,  new  joy,  new  faith  in  Jesus  the  Bridegroom 
of  our  souls,  the  abandonment  of  all  false  and  hypo- 
critical worship,  new  blessings  from  God,  security, 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost ! 

[Posey  :  To  each  returning  soul,  the  valley  of 
trouble,  or  the  lowliness  of  repentance,  becometh  a 
door  of  patient  longing,  not  in  itself  but  because  God 
giveth  it  so  ;  a  longing  which  reacheth  on,  awaiteth. 
on,  entering  within  the  vail,  and  bound  fast  to  the 
throne  of  God.  —  M.] 

Ver.  19.  Keil  :  The  abandonment  of  idolatry 
and  mixed  religion  is  a  work  of  divine  grace  which 
renews  the  heart  and  fills  it  with  abhorrence  of 
idolatry  in  its  gross  or  refined  forms. 

Ver.  20.  Only  then  can  men  live  with  full  en- 
joyment and  security  in  the  world,  when  they  feel 
assured  that  tluy  have  a  merciful  God. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Tranquillus  Deus  tranquil- 
lat  omnia.  —  M  ] 

Ver.  21.  Rieger:  When  the  kind  alluring  of 
God  finds  entrance  into  us,  when  it  educes  an  an- 
swer of  humble  penitence,  how  the  faithful  God 
becomes  inclined  to  make  all  his  covenant  good  to 
us,  and  to  let  no  good  thing  fail  of  all  that  He  has 
spoken. 

Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  How  highly  are  the  souls 
of  believers  esteemed  by  God  that  He  should  be- 
troth Himself  to  them,  and  that  to  eternity,  and 
present  Himself  and  his  love  to  them  literally  as 
their  own !  For  in  this  He  presents  to  them  his 
dear  righteousness,  the  righteousness  of  Christ, 
which  is  of  infinite  worth  ;  He  acquits  them  in 
judgment ;  He  displays  toward  them  mercy  and 
compassion  by  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  He  even 
betroths  Himself  to  them  in  faithfulness,  and  thus 
implants  the  true  knowledge  of  Him  in  their  souls. 
Prove,  0  soul,  whether  thou  art  as  intimate  with 
Him  :  Dost  thou  enjoy  with  Him  a  blessed  and 
true  communion  of  love  1  Why  is  it  then  that 
thou  dost  still  love  so  much  the  world  and  sin,  and 
that  thy  mind  is  ever  occupied  with  other  objects 
than  Jesus  ? 

[Saint  Bernard  :  How  can  it  be  that  so 
mighty  a  king  should  become  a  Bridegroom,  that 
the  Church  should  be  exalted  into  a  bride'?  That 
alone  which  is  all-powerful  hath  power  for  this, 
Love  that  is  strong  as  death.  How  should  *hat  not 
raise  her  up,  which  has  already  made  Him  to 
stoop  '>  If  He  hath  not  acted  as  a  spouse,  if  He 
hath  not  loved  as  a  spouse,  been  jealous  as  ■ 
spouse,  then  hesitate  thou  to  think  thy«elf  e* 
poused. —  M.] 


CHAPTER  III. 


13 


Vers.  23,  24.  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be 
ugainst  us.  Faith  will  assuredly  gain  a  hearing. 
Behold,  all  creatures  are  ready  to  serve  believers. 
Everything  must  drop  blessings  upon  them. 

Pfaff.  Bibeluerk :  God  pours  down  upon 
believers  from  the  lofty  heaven  of  his  mercy  a 
shower  of  spiritual  gifts,  yes,  even  the  oil  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  Himself.  It  is  our  part  to  open  the 
mouths  of  our  heart,  and  most  eagerly  receive  those 
blessings  which  God's  mercy  vouchsafes  to  us. 

[Matthew  Henrt  :  See  what  a  peculiar  de- 
light those  that  are  in  covenant  with  God  may 
take  in  their  creature  comforts,  as  seeing  them  all 
come  to  them  from  the  hand  of  God  ;  they  can  run 
up  all  the  streams  to  the  fountain,  and  taste  cove- 
nant love  in  common  mercies,  which  makes  them 
doubly  sweet.  —  M.] 

Ver.  25.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk :  There  is  thus 
always  time  left  for  repentance,  and  the  Lord  still 
preserves  a  seed  for  Himself,  which  He  makes 
fruitful  and  increases.  If  He  then  is  so  rich  in 
mercy,  O  let  us  become  ready  to  receive  it  by  a 


true  repentance  and  conversion,  and  not  suppose 
that  this  great  work  can  be  accomplished  in  a  lif» 
less  spirit  or  with  a  hypocritical  behavicr. 

Cramer  :  True  faith  knows  God  not  only  ai 
God,  but  as  its  God. 

Rieger  :  All  in  this  life  that  is  truly  good  is  in- 
cluded in  this:  My  God!  if  said  not  from  habit, 
but  with  a  full  title  to  its  use.  This  is  a  word  of 
faith,  by  which  we  place  our  whole  reliance  upon 
the  almighty,  true,  and  compassionate  God  ;  it  is 
a  word  of  hope  by  which  we  provide  ourselves 
with  all  good  perpetually  in  God,  who  is  a  Rock 
of  Eternity,  a  word  of  love  and  fellowship  by 
which  we  delight  ourselves  in  the  goodness  of  God, 
and  give  ourselves  wholly  up  to  Him. 

[Poset  :  To  say  my  God,  is  to  own  an  exclu 
sive  relation  to  God  alone.  It  is  to  say,  my  Begin 
ning  and  my  End,  my  Hope  and  my  Salvation,  in 
whom  alone  I  will  hope,  whom  alone  I  will  fear, 
love,  worship,  trust  in,  and  obey,  and  serve,  with 
all  my  heart,  soul,  strength,  and  mind,  my  God 
and  my  All !  —  M.] 


Chapter  III. 

The  Love  which  Jehovah  preserves  towards  the  "Adulterous"  People,  and  the  Chasten- 
ing in  Love  which  He  undertakes  for  their  Conversion,  again  symbolically  repre- 
sented. 

1  Then  said  the  Lord  [And  Jehovah  said]  unto  me,  Go  yet,1  love  a  woman  heloved 
of  her  friend,  yet  an  adulteress,  according  to  the  love  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  toward 
the  children  of  Israel,  who  look  [and  they  turn]  to  other  gods,  and  love  flagons  of 

2  wine  2  [raisin-cakes].     So  I  bought  her  3  to  me  for  a  homer  of  barley  and  a  half-homer 

3  of  barley.  And  I  said  unto  her,  Thou  shalt  abide  [remain  quiet]  for  me  many 
days  ;   thou  shalt  not  play  the  harlot,  and  thou  shalt  not  be  for  another  man  :  so  will 

4  I  also  be  for  thee.  For  the  children  of  Israel  shall  abide  many  days  without  a  king, 
and  without  a  prince,  and  without  a  sacrifice,  and  without  an  image,  and  without 

5  an  ephod,  and  without  teraphim.  Afterward  shall  the  children  of  Israel  return  and 
seek  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  their  God,  and  David  their  king,  and  shall  fear  4  the  Lord 

and  his   goodness    in    the  latter  days  [shall  tremble  towards  Jehovah  and  towards  his  goodness  at  the 
end  of  the  days]. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 
1  Ver.  1.  —  112?  might,  especially  to  gain  a  relation  to  H vPLn  (i-  2),  be  connected  with  ""IBSS1.     But  there  is 

no  sufficient  ground  for  a  change  in  the  accentuation.     The  reference  to  chap.  i.  2  is  clear  by  the  connection  with  7J7. 

[2  Ver.  1.  —  The  translation  of  the  last  two  words  of  ver.  1,  in  E.  V. :'  "  flagons  of  wine,"  which  is  that  of  Junius, 

Tremellius,  and  others,  and  the  various  other  renderings,  have  not  been  due  to  different  readings,  but  to  misconceptions 

of  the  meaning  of  "'U^tTS.  The  only  variation  of  reading  seems  to  have  been  that  held  by  Aquila,  who  translates: 
roAaia,  having  read  ",IT',E^.  —  M.] 

[3  Ver.  2  —  rf^3S1  has  here  daghesh-forte  separative.  See  Green,  Gr.,  §  24  6  ;  Ewald,  §  90  c  (6) ;  Bottctier,  §  229, 
3  ;  399  *  (1).  Note  the  repetition  of  D^TStt?  as  characteristic  of  the  Hebrew.  It  might  be  better  to  avoid  the  life* 
construction  in  English,  as  many  have  done,  by  rendering :  a  homer-and-a-half  of  barley.     See  the  exposition.  —  M.] 

4  Ver.  6  31   T"Tn2   is  a  pregnant  construction :  tremble  (and  come)  toward  Jehovah  and  toward  his  goodness 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Chapter  iii.  narrates  a  second  symbolical  action, 
ji  which  the  prophet  has  again  to  represent  by  his 
elations  to  a  woman  the  relation  of  (jlod  to  Israel. 


But  as  regards  this  relation,  that  which  is  to  be  pre 
sented  to  the  senses  is  essentially  different  from 
that  which  the  symbolical  action  of  chap.  i.  was  to 
present.  There  the  sin  of  Israel  was  to  be  sym- 
bolized, with  the  judgment  which  Jehovah  would 
inflict  upon  Israel  for  their  idolatry.    Here  there  ii 


44 


HOSEA. 


no  distinct  reference  to  these.  It  might  be  assumed 
of  itself  that  a  simple  repetition  of  the  comparison 
would  be  inadmissible.  We  must  rather  expect  an 
advance.  This  is  found  when  we  consider  that 
we  are  no  longer  at  the  beginning  as  in  chap,  i., 
DUt  that  the  whole  exposition,  from  chap.  ii.  1  on- 
wards, lies  between,  and  especially  the  section  ii. 
4  ff.,  where  it  is  clearly  stated  that  Israel  will  be 
deservedly  punished,  but  only  because  of  God's  love 
in  order  that  they  may  by  chastisement  be  led  to 
return  and  secure  his  favor.  This  announcement 
is  presupposed  in  our  chapter,  which  naturally 
stands  in  close  relation  to  chap.  i.  But  as  the  lat- 
ter chapter  forms  a  beginning,  so  also  does  it  form 
a  conclusion.  For  here  we  have  not  to  do  with 
the  judgment,  as  such,  which  Israel  has  to  suffer, 
the  judgment  of  rejection,  but  with  the  symbolical 
declaration,  that  God  loves  Israel,  must  chasten 
them,  but  does  so  only  out  of  love,  only  because 
He  will  not  cast  them  off.  The  symbolizing  of  this 
love  of  God  is  shown  expressly  in  ver.  1,  to  be  the 
main  object  of  this  purely  symbolical  transaction, 
and  the  emphasis  is  therefore  placed  upon  the  com- 
mand, to  "  love,"  laid  upon  the  prophet,  which  is 
inserted  designedly.  The  sequel  shows  of  what 
kind  this  love  is,  and  what  is  its  aim.  Vers.  1-3 
describe  the  symbolical  action.  Vers.  4,  5  afford 
its  explanation  and  inform  us  of  its  object. 

Ver.  1 .     And  Jehovah  said  to  me :  go  once 
more,  etc.    The  reference  to  chap.  i.  2  is  clear  even 

by  the  collocation  of  T137  and  "ST!?-  ^HS  is  es- 
sential, as  already  hinted,  and  therefore  cannot  be 
modified  into  a  mere  np  (i.  2)  [=take],  on  ac- 
count of  the  7J7  137,  which  expresses  the  repeti- 
tion of  the  former  action.  It  is  only  the  Tf  vH 
that  needs  to  be  repeated,  in  relation  to  the  woman. 
But  what  the  prophet  is  to  do  this  time  in  respect 
to  the  woman  is  ^HS.  This  must  express  not 
merely  a  disposition  to  love  (for  a  command,  and 

especially  the  command  ^T7>  would  not  agree  with 
this,  expressing  as  it  does  an  outward  act),  but  an 
attestation  or  effectuation  of  love.  Yet  this  pre- 
supposes an  inclination  to  love  ;  in  so  far  it  is  de- 
manded of  the  prophet.  For  he  is  to  represent  the 
conduct  of  God,  and  in  that  his  displays  of  love 
spring  from  a  loving  mind.  The  prophet  is  to  love 
a  woman  who  is  not  in  the  least  worthy  of  love  — 
to  love  whom   one  feels  and  can  feel  no  desire. 

n^t«p!|  3n  rorW  nWH.  Looking  to  the  sec- 
ond epithet  the  sense  is  clear :  committing  adul- 
tery. Thus  the  prophet  must  marry  an  adulterous 
woman.  This  can  scarcely  be  a  woman  who  has 
been  unfaithful  to  her  marriage  with  another.  It 
might  be  supposed,  indeed,  that  she  had  been  sep- 
arated from  Iter  husband,  and  it  would  be  difficult 
to  love  such  a  woman,  as  she  gives  no  guarantee 
of  her  fidelity.  But  nothing  is  said  of  any  such 
separation  from  another,  and  the  tertium  compara- 
tionis  is  just  the  fact  that  the  prophet  acts  after  the 
analogy  of  God,  and  therefore  must  love  a  woman 
who  is  unfaithful  to  her  marriage  with  himself. 
But  the  difficulty  lies  in  the  indefiniteness  of  the 
time  indcated  by  the  part.  HDS3S2.  Keil  takes 
it  to  be  future  =  who  will  become  adulterous : 
naturally,  if  the  woman  is  one  who  is  first  married 
to  the  prophet.  But  the  difficulties  which  attend 
the  explanation  as  future  are  less  patent  with  Keil, 

for  he  regards  ^08  ~  i~!J7,  which,  however,  is  ar- 

Vutrary.     If  we  take  ^1?.^  as  2HS,  it  is  felt  im- 


mediately that  it  cannot  be  simply  a  future  adul 
tery  that  is  here  meant.  It  is  meant  that  love  co- 
exists with  adultery  at  present  existing,  by  which 
love  is  not  destroyed,  but  rather  is  displayed  to 
the  adulteress  as  that  which  she  had  trifled  wit! 
by  her  infidelity.  Hence  love  is  here  rather  some- 
thing that  is  to  follow.  Only  so  is  it  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  attitude  of  God  which  io  hera 
depicted.  For  God  has  indeed  loved  Israel,  though 
He  knew  they  would  Afterwards  be  unfaithful  to 
Him.  But  it  is  not  that  which  happened  once 
that  is  to  be  exhibited  by  the  prophet,  but  that 
which  is  now  transpiring,  the  present  conduct 
of  God  towards  Israel  (as  in  chap.  i.  the  present 
conduct  of  Israel  towards  God,  as  Keil  there  cor- 
rectly remarks ;  see  above).  It  is  this,  that  God 
does  not  withdraw  his  love  from  a  spouse  who  has 
been  and  still  is  unfaithful.  Besides,  the  suppo- 
sition of  a  future  adultery  on  the  part  of  a  wife 
whom  the  prophet  is  to  take,  is  not  admissible  ac- 
cording to  what  follows.  For  the  prophet  in  ful- 
filling the  command  makes  this  impossible  for  her 
(ver.  3).  And  to  suppose  that  she  commits  adul- 
tery m  spite  of  this  prohibition  in  ver.  3  is  against 
ver.  4  ;  for  there  a  condition  of  Israel  is  described 
in  which  there  is  no  longer  adultery  (idolatry). 
Finally,  we  may  ask  more  generally,  how  we 
can  call  a  woman  who  is  to  commit  adultery  at 
some    future   time,   H2WP  i"Tl27S  ?      Therefore 

i~13S3!2  is  to  be  taken  as  a  preterite  or  as  a  pres- 
ent =^  a  woman  who  has  been  or  is  unfaithful 
to  thee.  And  the  conclusion  is  a  necessary  one, 
that  a  woman  is  supposed  with  whom  the  Prophet 
was  already  united.  It  would  then  be  surprising, 
if  it  were  quite  forgotten  in  chap.  iii.  that  a  mar- 
riage of  the  prophet  had  already  been  described, 
and  a  new  one  were  introduced.  Such  a  broken, 
atomizing  method  of  representation  can  hardly  be 
imputed  to  a  prophetic  writer,  especially  as  there 
is  absolute  necessity  for  understanding  a  reference 
to  chap.  i.  in  the  very  matter  in  question.  No,  as 
our  chapter  presupposes  the  preceding  in  a  general 
way,  it  presupposes  chap.  i.  specially  ;  yet  it  nat- 
urally is  not  a  repetition  of  the  image,  but  an  ex- 
tension of  it.  There  the  prophet  was  commanded 
to  marry  a  lewd  woman  (and  to  beget  children  by 
her).  When  such  a  woman  is  married  she  is  no 
longer  a  whore,  but  an  adulteress.    For  a  woman, 

once  characterized  as  D^ST  HtPN,  naturally  re- 
tains that  character,  and  when  married  will  be 
nSS2Xp  PC#K.  It  is  thus  that  she  appears  in 
chap.  iii.  And  as  first  the  prophet  was  to  marry 
a  whorish  woman,  so  now  he  is  to  love  the  whor- 
ish  woman  as  married,  i.  e.,  an  adulterous  wife. 
Compared  with  the  other  this  is  something  higher, 
something  new.  The  former  was  to  exhibit  a 
disturbed  actual  condition  of  things,  —  the  existing 
inversion  of  the  normal  relations  between  God 
and  Israel  (and  in  the  children  the  deserved  pun- 
ishment) ;  the  latter  a  comforting  truth,  the  desired 
restitution  of  those  relations.  (We  might  add: 
As  the  unpropitious  names  of  the  children  have 
been  changed  into  their  opposites,  the  same  thing 
happens  in  a  certain  sense  in  the  unpropitious  mar- 
riage. There  it  was  said :  Thou  must  take  a  wife 
just  because  she  is  a  whore,  and  so  testily  against 
Israel's  sin  and  of  their  rejection,  and  now  :  Thou 
must  love  her  although  she  is  an  adulteress,  and  so 
testify  of  Israel's  hope).  And  as  something  essen- 
tially different  is  to  be  symbolized  by  this  relation 
of  the  prophet  to  his  wife,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  —  which  cannot  be  denied,  —  th;- 1  the  form  of 


CHAPTER  III. 


45 


the  discourse  is  such  that  something  altogether 
new  appears  to  begin,  or  that  it  appears  as  though 
the  prophet  were  now  for  the  first  time  being 
brought  into  relations  with  this  woman.  We  have 
here  again  an  indication  that  we  have  not  to  do 
with  real,  actual  events.  A  narrative  of  an  actual 
marriage  of  the  prophet  is  not  given ;  he  is  only 
conceived  of  as  standing  in  that  relation,  and  since 
it  is  only  a  feigned  condition  of  things,  it  can  very 
well  be  viewed  first  from  one  side,  and  then,  with- 
out any  preparation,  from  another.     The  woman 

is  naturally  called  Htt'S,  not  TlW&'H.  For  the 
emphasis  lies  upon  the  predicates  ;  his  wife  appears 
here  as  an  adulterous  woman  =  love  (in  thy  wife) 
an  adulterous  woman.  The  absence  of  the  article 
can  therefore  not  be  urged  against  the  identity  of 
this  woman  with  the  former.  This  identity  is,  in 
fact,  only  presupposed  in  the  command  of  our 
chapter.  The  main  point  is  that  the  Prophet  may 
be  thought  of  (1)  as  being  already  married,  (2)  as 
experiencing  his  wife's  adultery.  No  importance  is 
attached  to  the  person  of  the  woman,  for  no  actual 
event  is  described.  If  this  were  the  case,  a  woman, 
living  in  wedlock  with  the  Prophet,  could  not  be 
spoken  of  as  this  one  is  here  described.  From  this 
it  is  evident  that  we  have  here  only  the  symboliz- 
ing of  religious  truth ;  as  soon  as  this  is  accom- 
plished the  person  of  the  woman  possesses  no  fur- 
ther interest. 

The  suffix  in  n^SM  (ver.  2),  also  appears  to  al- 
lude to  a  well  known  woman,  and  this  cannot  be 
disposed  of  by  Keil's  remark  that  the  suffix  refers 
simply  to  the  woman  mentioned  in  ver.  1.  For 
according  to  Keil's  view  a  woman  is  only  described 
in  ver.  1 ;  it  is  only  said  what  kind  of  woman  she 
is.  This  mere  predicate  of  a  woman  whose  person 
is  as  yet  undefined  cannot  afterwards  be  supplied 
by  a  personal  pronoun  but  only  by  :  such  a  wom- 
an, or,  since  that  expression  is  unknown  to  the 
Hebrew,  by  repeating  the  whole  predicate :  a  woman 
beloved,  etc.,  if  her  name  were  not  to  be  given. 
The  pers.  pron.  would  presuppose  that  the  person 
named  in  ver.  1  was  already  well  defined,  and  not 
simply  a  person  of  the  kind  described.     But  this 

woman  is  further  described  as  V"?.  ^?<7— '  an(i 
that  before  the  other  predicate.  The  sense  has 
been  taken  differently:  (l)=beloved  by  a  para- 
mour, and  therefore  parallel  with  nSS3tt,  or  the 
latter  would  express  its  consequence  :  beloved  by  a 
paramour,  and  so  committing  adultery.   (2)  "Since 

"2~}  in  Jer.  iii.  20  denotes  a  husband  but  never  an 
adulterous  paramour,"  the  phrase  is  supposed  = 
beloved  by  a  husband  and  yet  practicing  adultery. 
But  it  is  certainly  incorrect  to  say  that  37  "1  can  be 
understood  only  of  a  husband  and  not  of  a  para- 
mour. It  means  paramour  in  Jer.  iii.  1,  at  all 
events.  It  means  simply  :  one  with  whom  one  has 
intercourse,  a  companion,  and  specially  in  the  re- 
lations of  love :  one  beloved  (see  the  lexicons). 
The  word  does  not  determine  whether  the  inter- 
course be  lawful  or  not.  Therefore  the  notion  of 
the  marriage  relation  must  not  be  imported  into 
he  word,  and  we  must  remain  by  the  sense :  be- 
loved one  (friend,  companion).     If  the  marriage 

relation  is  indicated,  37^  is  abstracted  from  this 
relation  as  such,  and  only  its  inner  side,  so  to 
speak,  the  love  that  is  felt  m  the  married  state,  is 
brought  into  view.  Now  it  is  just  this  disposition 
af  love  that  is  to  be  emphasized  in  this  connection, 

»nd  therefore  ^T?  is  chosen  designedlv.    The  word 


would  thus  be  just  as  suitable  used  of  illicit  as  of 
conjugal  love.  But  it  is  especially  in  favor  of  the 
latter  that,  so  far  as  the  conduct  of  the  woman  is 
brought  before  us,  she  appears  as  the  (guilty)  sub- 
ject of  a  love  directed  towards  another,  and  is 
therefore  to  be  represented  actively,  not  passively, 
as  the  object  of  a  love  displayed  by  another  ;  hence 

the  passive  expression  :  377?   H3HS.,  would   give 

an  unsuitable  sense  if  it  should  mean  :  beloved  by 
a  paramour.  Israel  is  essentially  one  who  turns 
to  paramours,  runs  after  them  unremittingly, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  Israel  is  the  object  of  the 
Husband's  love  from  the  beginning,  and  is  here 
represented  as  receiving  it.  Therefore  in  the  fig- 
urative presentation  also  the  love  is  regarded  as 
coming  from,  and  being  bestowed  by  the  husband 
upon  the  wife.     (It  would  be  otherwise  if  we  had 

a  different  punctation :  H^rj^).  Hence  the 
sense  is :  Love  a  woman,  who,  although  beloved 
by  her  friend,  has  yet  become  an  adulteress.  Her 
sin  is  thus  sharply  stigmatized,  that  the  love  en- 
joined may  appear  in  greater  contrast  to  it  and  as 

something  unmerited.  This  view  of  ^"7]  i"l2nS 
shows  all  the  more  the  untenableness  of  any 
reference  to  a  woman  whom  the  Prophet  must 
now  marry.  For  that  phrase  would  then  allude 
to  some  person  who  now  appears  for  the  first  time. 
But  what  meaning  would  there  be  in  the  com 
mand  :  love  a  woman  who  will  or  is  to  be  beloved 
by  her  husband,  i.  e.,  by  thee  ?  The  notion  would 
be  more  tolerable  only  if  2HS  be  (with  Keil)  mod 
ified  into  Hj7  which  is,  however,  certainly  inad- 
missible. The  words:  as  Jehovah  loves  the 
children  of  Israel,  etc.,  indicate  expressly  that 
what  the  prophet  is  to  do  has  a  symbolical  mean- 
ing, and  declares  also  what  that  meaning  is.  For 
they  are  plainly  not  merely  to  be  connected  (Keil) 
with  nSN3E1  17 — >  rQHS  =  (love)  a  woman 
who,  although  beloved  by  her  husband,  commits 
adultery,  and  who  acts  as  does  Israel,  who  was  loved 
by  God"  and  yet,  etc.  It  is  more  natural  to  refer 
them  to  the  command  which  the  prophet  received. 
This  command  of  God,  in  itself  so  surprising  and 
exacting,  receives  by  them  its  symbolical  explana- 
tion. It  is  laid  upon  him  only  that  he  may  thus 
exhibit  the  love  of  God,  who  loves  his  people  and 
manifests  that  love,  in  spite  of  their  unfaithfulness, 
and  by  the  love  enjoined  upon  him  he  is  to  repre- 
sent and  assure  to  the  people  this  love  of  God. 

i"QnS3  does  not  merely  indicate  the  reason  why 
the  prophet  is  to  love  this  woman,  but  it  declares 
also  how  he  is  to  do  so  :  he  must  not  merely  "  love  " 
in  the  general,  but  must  love  after  that  definite 
manner  in  which  Jehovah  loves  the  children  of  Is- 
rael (which  is  shown  immediately  thereafter).  And 
love  raisin-cakes.  These  must  have  been  con- 
nected in  some  way  with  idolatrous  worship :  they 
probably  belonged  to  the  offerings  presented  to  the 
idols,  and  eaten  at  the  idol-festivals.  Hence  we  are 
to  understand  first  an  image  of  idol-worship,  whose 
enticing  dainties  are  contrasted  with  the  hard  and 
healthy  fare  of  the  serious  religion  of  Jehovah. 
But  this  special  feature  of  the  worship  is  chosen  in 
order  to  show  the  service  to  be  something  agreeing 
with  the  flesh,  satisfying  the  sensual  nature  ;  which 
explains  the  more  easily  Israel's  apostasy,  and  a 
the  same  time  includes  a  bitter  reproach :  "  They 
forget  their  God  for  the  sake  of  dainties." 

Vers.  2,  3.     Then  I  purchased  her  for  mysell 
for  fifteen  silverlings,  etc.     In  ver.  2  we  neces- 


16 


HOSEA. 


sarily  find  the  fulfillment  of  the  command  of  ver. 
1,  the  3nt»  there  enjoined.  This  is  a  guide  to  the 
exposition.  With  H-?  we  must  supply  /T}W: 
fifteen  shekels  of  silver.  Homer  is  the  name  of  a 
dry  measure  =  a  cor,  or  ten  baths  or  ten  ephahs 

(see  Ezek.  xlv.  11),  TfOx  =a  half  homer.  To- 
gether =  a  homer  and  a  half  or  fifteen  ephahs.  The 
money  value  of  this  quantity  ot  barley  cannot  be 
determined  ;  for  it  is  arbitrary  to  suppose,  because 
fifteen  ephahs  are  mentioned  along  with  fifteen  shek- 
els of  silver,  that  therefore  they  are  of  equal  value, 
and  that  an  ephah  of  barley  was  worth  an  ephah  of 
silver.  An  agreement  of  the  numbers  would  then 
have  been  avoided ;  nothing  would  have  been  said 
of  the  fifteen  ephahs,  and  an  altogether  different 
measure  would  have  been  given.  Nothing  is  to  be 
concluded  from  2  Kings  vii.  1  18,  nor  from  Ex. 
xxi.  32,  if,  indeed,  the  latter  can  be  at  all  con- 
nected with  this  verse.  It  is  supposed  that  the 
passage  in  Exodus  affords  the  key  to  the  understand- 
ing of  our  passage,  and  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver 
are  sought  here  the  more  earnestly.  Thirty  pieces 
of  silver  are  there  stated  to  be  the  price  of  a  slave, 
and  it  is  supposed  that  the  Prophet  paid  the  same 
sum  for  the  woman  in  order  to  symbolize  the  state 
of  bondage  from  which  God  redeemed  Israel.  But 
Kurtz  rightly  rejects  this  explanation  of  the  pas- 
sage and  its  application  to  our  verse,  on  the  ground 
that  there  it  is  not  the  price  of  a  slave  that  is  al- 
luded to,  but  the  compensation  allowed  for  a  slave 
killed  on  account  of  the  carelessness  of  another. 
In  the  latter  case  it  was  just  as  allowable  and  fit- 
ting to  fix  one  and  the  same  price  without  respect 
to  age,  sex,  and  constitution,  as  it  would  have  been 
wrong  and  foolish  to  fix  the  market  price  under 
the  same  conditions.  For  in  the  former  case  (of 
killing)  the  responsibility  was  just  the  same  no 
matter  who  the  slave  might  be,  a  strong  man,  or  a 
woman,  or  a  decrepit  or  aged  person.  Zech.  xi. 
12  might  better  be  compared.  But  this  passage 
does  not  speak  of  the  price  of  a  slave,  and  besides, 
it  is  an  arbitrary  assumption  that  our  passage 
speaks  of  thirty  shekels'  worth.  So  we  are  shut 
up  to  an  explanation  of  our  passage  from  itself 
alone,  and  we  have  no  sure  ground  for  believing 
that  a  redemption  from  bondage  is  alluded  to.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  are  not  justified  in  assuming  a 
purchase  of  the  woman  from  her  parents  with  the 
pieces  of  silver,  etc.,  for  "  it  cannot  be  shown  that 
it  was  a  custom  with  the  Israelites  to  purchase  the 
bride  from  her  parents"  (Keil).  Keil  therefore 
holds  that  the  fifteen  silverlings,  etc.,  are  some- 
thing given  to  the  woman.  Of  course  it  cannot 
be  meant  that  the  pieces  of  silver,  etc.,  were  given 
to  the  present  paramour  of  the  woman.  Such  an 
offering  would  be  itself  surprising :  but  we  must 
also  remember  that  the  woman  is  not  conceived  of 
as  being  adulterously  connected  with  a  paramour. 

What  now  does  n^)2S1   mean?    It  is  clear  that 

the  meaning  "  dig  "  is  unsuitable  here,  for  the  ex- 
planation of  Hengstenberg,  from  Ex.  xxi.  6 ; 
Deut.  xv.  17,  is  strange  and  awkward.  In  Gen. 
1.  5  ;  Deut.  ii.  6 ;  Job  vi.  27  ;  xl.  30,  it  has  the 
meaning :  purchase,  make  a  bargain  ;  in  the  last 

two  passages  with  ^?  of  the  person  or  thing  for 
Dr  about  which  the  bargain  was  made  :  in  the  first 
i,wo  with  an  accusative  =  to  purchase,  buy  ;  in  the 

first  with  v,  of  the  person  who  is  bought :  in  the 

w-cond  with  2,  of  the  price  paid.  So  also  here: 
i  purchased  her  to  me  for,  etc.    This  certainly  ap- 


pears not  to  agree  with  our  explanation  of  chap, 
iii.,  which  we  hold  is  concerned  with  a  woman 
with  whom  the  prophet  is  already  married  ;  but 
this  contradiction  is  only  apparent.  For,  though 
the  woman  is  married  to  the  prophet,  she  is  yet  an 
adulterous  wife,  and  has  therefore  renounced  her 
husband  (compare  Israel's  attitude  towards  God). 
If  he  "  loves  "  her  still,  and  would  prove  to  her 
his  enduring  love,  he  must  act  towards  her  as  ono 
who  weds  a  wife,  he  must  purchase  her,  like  8 
stranger,  with  a  bridal  gift.  If  this  points  to  the 
guilt,  the  extreme  estrangement  of  the  woman,  it 
shows  also  directly  the  endurance  of  the  husband's 
love  that  he  should  act  thus,  that  he  should  treat 
as  a  bride  a  degraded,  adulterous  wife,  from  whom 
it  would  be  most  natural  to  cut  himself  entirely 
loose,  that  he  should  even  give  her  a  bridal  present 
in  opposition  to  all  natural  inclinations!  Yet  this 
is  not  a  blind  love,  but  it  corresponds  to  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case  (compare  God's  attitude 
towards  Israel),  a  love  which  involves  a  beneficial 
chastening.  This  is  indicated  in  our  verse.  It  is 
assuredly  not  without  design  that  a  production  of 
nature  forms  part  of  the  gift.  It  shows  that  it  was 
intended  for  the  support  of  life.  It  is  probably 
indicated  that  the  woman  is  not  yet  taken  into  the 
husband's  house  ;  for  such  a  gift  would  then  have 
no  meaning.  Further,  the  bridal  gift  is  such  a  one 
as  the  wife  had  the  least  right  to  claim  or  expect : 
a  token  that  her  husband  loves  her  still  and  will 
not  cut  himself  off  wholly  from  her.  And  if  this 
cannot  be  maintained  with  certainty,  it  is  still 
probable  (barley  was  among  the  ancients  a  food 
but  little  esteemed)  that  this  whole  present  was 
not  at  all  a  rich  one,  but  only  barely  sufficient, 
especially  if  we  can  assume  that  it  was  to  last 
"  many  days."  Ver.  3  gives  additional  infor- 
mation as  to  the  action  of  the  prophet  described 

in  ver.  2,  S^Sin  ^N -^  an  indefinite  period  of 
long  duration  :  the  end  will  depend  upon  the  con- 
duct of  the  wife.   ^\   "^BJJ-I.    22^  =  to  sit,  i.e., 

"  to  keep  quiet.  The  ^  shows  that  such  con- 
duct was  to  be  observed  with  reference  to  the  hus- 
band, that  he  so  disposes  of  her  from  love  to  her, 
in  order  to  improve  her  and  educate  her  to  become 

his  faithful  wife."  V  2^t  therefore  does  not 
mean  :  dwell  with  me.  What  was  remarked  in 
ver.  2  proves  this  already,  and  the  meaning  of  ver 
4,  especially,  would  not  suit  such  a  sense,  for  a  re 
lation  of  communion  with  God  is  here  denied.  The 

difficult  words  "H  \?W  "V?W.  23},  are  probably  to 
be  explained  in  a  corresponding  manner  with  the 
recent  expositors  :  and  I  will  be  so  towards  thee, 
namely,  observe  the  same  conduct  towards  thee, 
i.  e.,  have  no  conjugal  intercourse  with  thee.  An- 
other explanation  is :  and  I  also  will  hold  myself 
ready  for  thee,  wait  for  thee,  i.  e.,  not  take  any 
other  wife.  This  is  possible  in  itself,  but  not  suit- 
able to  ver.  4,  which  contains  the  explanation  of 
ver.  3.  For  this  verse  contains  only  a  negative 
thought  (see  on  ver.  4).  Therefore  the  sense  ot 
the  whole  is  :  The  Prophet  displays  unmerited  love 
towards  his  adulterous  wife,  according  to  the  com- 
mand 2HS  for,  like  a  bridegroom  he  again  ac- 
quires her  with  a  bridal  gift.  But  this  love  has 
also  for  its  object  the  improvement  of  the  wife,  and 
he  therefore  manifests  his  love  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  secure  that  end.  He  cares  for  her  support 
but  limits  her  allowance  that  she  may  learn  salu 
tarv  humility.     He  naturally  interdicts  her  adui 


CHAPTER  III. 


47 


terous  habits,  but  does  not  at  once  resume  his  con- 
jugal intercourse  with  her.  This  is  therefore  a 
manifestation  of  love  of  a  disciplinary  character, 
but  still  essentially  of  love,  — just  as  is  that  of  God 
toward  Israel. 

Ver.  4.     For  many  days  will  the  children  of 

Israel  sit,  etc.  Ver.  4  is  the  explanation  0-?  = 
for)  of  ver.  3.  Three  pairs  of  objects  are  named 
of  which  the  children  of  Israel  shall  be  deprived. 
King  and  prince  —  holders  of  the  civil  government, 
which  will  therefore  cease  in  Israel.  Also  the  wor- 
ship will  cease  with  it.    This  is  represented  by  the 

two  following,  ni}1?,  sacrifice,  and  H3^D,  stat- 
ues, defining  the  sense  more  closely.  Besides  these, 
two  objects  used  as  oracles  are  mentioned :  the 
ephod,  which  was  strictly  the  High-priest's  shoul- 
der-garment, with  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  which 
was  put  on  or  brought  out  when  oracles  were  given. 
It  is  brought  into  view  here  evidently  not  in  rela- 
tion to  the  High-priest,  but  on  account  of  its  con- 
nection with  oracles  in  general,  as  its  use  was  im- 
itated even  by  idolaters  in  worship  (Judges  xvii. 

5;  xviii.  14,  17,  18,  20).  The  D^~1/-l  were  also 
used  for  the  same  purpose  They  are  equivalent 
to  Penates  (comp.  Zech.  xix.  2  ;  Ezek.  xxi.  26), 
and  in  the  passage  cited  from  Judges  are  men- 
tioned along  with  the  ephod.  Whether  the  sense 
is  that  Israel  will  have  neither  the  worship  of  Je- 
hovah nor  idolatry,  remains  doubtful.  For,  ac- 
cording to  what  has  been  said,  the  ephod  does  not 
directly  imply  the  worship  of  Jehovah ;  still  less 

does  HpT.  Probably  the  distinction  between  the 
two  is  not  implied,  but  worship  simply  indicated. 
The  condition  of  things  is  described  as  one  of  the 
deprivation  of  that  which  had  been  Israel's  sup- 
port (king  and  prince)  and  joy  and  consolation 
(sacrifice,  etc.);  and  the  important  fact  is  that 
idolatry  should  cease.  This  should  be  effected 
against  Israel's  desire,  would  be  a  punishment 
like  the  cessation  of  their  own  government,  civil 
independence;  but  the  punishment  is  a  chastening 
in  love,  a  token  that  God  had  not  forgotten  Israel. 
It  is  true  that  this  positive  truth,  of  a  manifesta- 
tion of  love,  lies  in  the  background  in  our  verse, 
which  wears  a  negative  aspect.  But  this  love  was 
declared  in  ver.  1  to  be  the  main  thought,  and  in 
ver.  5  (whose  purport,  moreover,  transcends  the 
symbol)  it  appears  quite  clearly  by  the  issue  to  be 
the  object  in  view. 

Ver.  5.  Afterwards  will  the  children  of  Is- 
rael return :  a  post  hoc  which  includes,  however, 
clearly  a  propter  hoc,  i.  e.,  the  situatk.i  described 
in  ver.  4  is  an  essential  cooperating  factor.  Will 
seek  Jehovah  their  God  and  David  their  king. 
"  Seeking  Jjhovah  their  God  is  connected  with  seek- 
ing David  their  king.  For  as  the  apostasy  of  the 
ten  tribes  from  the  kingdom  of  David  was  only 
the  consequence  and  result  of  its  inner  apostasy 
from  Jehovah,  so  the  true  return  to  God  could  not 
take  place  without  a  return  to  their  king  David, 
since  God  had  promised  the  kingdom  to  David  for- 
ever in  his  seed  (2  Sam.  vii.  13,  16)  ;  thus  David 
is  the  only  true  king  of  Israel  —  their  king  "  ( Keil ) . 
The  family  of  David  is  probably  primarily  meant, 
and  more  strictly,  a  king  of  that  family.  The  con- 
elusion,  "  at  the  end  of  the  days,"  alludes  to  the 
Messianic  period,  according  to  prophetic  usage  else- 
where ;  hence  we  are  justified  in  assuming  the  Mes- 
siah to  be  also  meant  here.  Will  tremble  towards 

Jehovah.  "tn2,  to  tremble  ;  with  -Sit  forms  a 
pretfn^TU  expression  :  tremble  hastening  towards- 


It  is  a  stronger  expression  for  the  preceding 
12?  p  2  =  seek  with  anxiety,  since  the  needed  help 
is  found  in  the  One  sought ;  therefore  sought  with 
solicitude,  although  He  assuredly  will  be  found, 
because  He  is  the  seeker's  only  dependence.  This 
is  thus  the  direct  contrast  to  the  former  abandon- 
ment of  Jehovah  and  seeking  help  in  idols.  What 
is  sought  in  God  is  his  goodness,  especially  in  his 
gifts,  of  which  they  had  been  deprived  (comp.  Jer 
xxxi.  12  ;  Zech.  ix.  17).  On  the  end  of  the  days 
see  the  preceding  remarks.  This  is  therefore  the 
end  of  the  "  many  days,"  or  the  fuller  explanation 

of  "ins. 

[The  discussion  given  above  of  this  chapter  is 
so  full  and  able,  both  as  to  its  general  purport  and 
as  to  its  special  features,  that  no  additions  are  neces- 
sary from  any  writer  holding  the  identity  of  the 
woman  here  described  with  that  of  chap.  i.  The 
force  of  some  of  the  arguments  employed  is  over- 
estimated, and  others,  as  is  readily  perceived,  are 
too  largely  based  on  mere  speculation,  yet  the  gen- 
eral results  go  to  show  the  strong  probability  of 
the  correctness  of  this  hypothesis  and  of  its  conse- 
quences, where  they  affect  the  interpretation  of  in- 
dividual passages.  The  recent  English  commen- 
tators agree  with  the  majority  of  the  moderns  in 
holding  this  view.  Newcome  adopts  the  old  opin- 
ion that  the  Prophet's  former  wife  (Gomer)  had  died 
in  the  interval.  Noyes  thinks  that  it  is  immaterial 
whether  the  women  are  identical  or  not.  The  full- 
ness of  the  discussion  of  the  several  minor  features 
of  this  short  chapter  precludes  the  necessity  of  ad- 
ditions from  the  remarks  of  Anglo-American  ex- 
positors, which  are,  moreover,  usually  of  a  com- 
paratively general  nature.  On  some  points,  as,  for 
example,  the  object  of  the  "  purchase  "  of  the  wom- 
an, and  its  symbolical  meaning,  the  difficulties  can- 
not be  said  to  be  yet  satisfactorily  solved.  —  M.| 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  the  love  of  Jehovah  to  Israel,  which  en- 
dures in  spite  of  all  unfaithfulness,  but  doea 
not  forget  to  chasten,  see  the  Introduction,  and 
especially  No.  1  in  the  Doctrinal  and  Ethical  Jec- 
tion  attached  to  chap.  ii. 

2.  A  condition  of  things,  such  as  that  threat- 
ened in  ver.  4,  characterized  the  kingdom  of  the 
ten  tribes  when  they  were  led  away  into  exile  by 
Assyria  ;  and  in  this  we  can  see  a  fulfillment,  al- 
though nothing  is  said  of  any  captivity,  and  in 
fact  nothing  of  the  manner  in  which  the  kingdom 
and  worship  should  cease.  It  is  very  doubtful,  to 
say  the  least,  whether  we  can  claim  for  the  threat 
ening  a  wider  range,  and  make  it  apply  also  to  the 
kingdom  of  Judah.  Nothing  can  be  adduced  from 
the  resemblance  to  the  threatening  which  the 
Prophet  Azariah  uttered  against  Judah  in  the  days 
of  Asa  (2  Chron.  xv.  2,  4).  For  ver.  5  of  our 
chapter  points  too  clearly  to  the  kingdom  of  the 
ten  tribes,  and  no  judgments  are  pronounced 
against  Judah  until  the  later  chapters,  which  be- 
long to  a  later  period.  The  threatening  goes  hand 
in  hand  with  the  promise.  The  latter  holds  out, 
first  of  all,  a  return,  which,  according  to  the  words : 
shall  seek  Jehovah  their  God,  is  to  be  taken  as  a 
contrast  to  the  resort  made  to  other  gods  (ver.  1). 
According  to  the  promise  they  will  also  seek  David 
their  king.  [See  the  passage  quoted  frcm  Keil  ir. 
the  exegetical  section.]  The  house  of  David  is 
naturally  the  primary  object  of  the  reference.  Foi 
in  returning  thither  thev  acknowledge  the  divine 


±8 


HO  SEA. 


right  of  David  to  the  kingdom.  This  promise  is 
shown  here  indubitably  to  be  Messianic  by  the 
expression  :  "  at  the  end  of  the  days,"  which  "  does 
not  denote  the  future  in  general,  but  always  the 
coming  consummation  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
which  begins  with  the  advent  of  the  Messiah." 
(Keil.)  We  cannot,  therefore,  find  the  fulfillment 
in  that  which  happened  in  the  return  from  the 
Babylonian  exile,  apart  from  the  consideration 
that  that  event  affected  mainly  the  kingdom  of 
Judah,  while  here  the  kingdom  of  Israel  is  the 
subject  of  discourse ;  thus  the  promise  was  not 
then  fulfilled.  Hence  the  question  is  suggested 
here  also  :  Since  this  promise  was  not  fulfilled^  to 
Israel  even  with  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  has  it 
fallen  to  the  ground,  or  is  the  fulfillment  yet  to  be 
Bxpected  1  According  to  what  has  been  remarked 
under  chap,  i.,  both  questions  are  to  be  answered  in 
the  negative,  and  the  answer  rather  is  :  The  fulfill- 
ment has  already  begun  in  Him,  in  whom  all  the 
promises  of  God  are  Yea  and  Amen,  but  in  another 
and  far  higher  sense  than  the  Prophet  imagined,  who 
saw  the  people  of  God  in  Israel  alone.  Separating 
the  kernel  from  the  husk,  we  must,  upon  the 
ground  of  the  New  Covenant,  see  the  fulfillment 
in  the  gathering  of  a  people  of  God  around  a  de- 
scendant of  David  who  was  greater  than  David's 
son,  —  around  Christ.  And  so,  though  this  is  not 
the  literal  meaning  of  the  promise,  "  King  David  " 
that  one  of  David's  family  who  was  to  be  sought 
after,  is  the  Messiah.  In  "this  Son  of  David  it  is 
fulfilled,  though  not  yet  completely.  The  promise 
is  still  in  course  of  fulfillment,  and  to  its  perfect 
fulfillment  is  specially  necessary  the  universal  con- 
version of  Israel  to  Christ,  but,  as  is  natural,  not 
merely  the  people  of  the  ten  tribes,  here  literally 
indicated. 

HOMTLETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Ver.  1.    Luther:   Let  us  cease  to   fear  the 
wrath  and  judgment  of  God  on  account  of  our 


sins,  and  believe  what  the  Prophet  says,  that  God 
is  like  a  husband  who,  although  he  "has  been  de 
serted  by  an  adulterous  wife  and  is  angry  thereat, 
is  yet  more  impelled  by  mercy,  than  urged  by  the 
sin  of  the  adulteress,  and  wins  her  back  to  his 
love.  And  truly  has  the  Prophet  in  two  respects 
set  forth  great  things.  For,  in  the  first  place,  he 
could  not  describe  sin  as  being  more  dreadful  than 
he  here  pictures  it  in  the  sin  of  the  adulteress.  And; 
again,  he  extols  highly  the  love  of  God  by  this 
image,  when  he  says  that  He  is  animated  by  love 
towards  the  adulteress. 

[Pusey  :  His  love  was  to  outlive  hers,  that  He 
might  win  her  at  last  to  Himself.  Such,  God  says, 
is  the  love  of  the  Lord  for  Israel.  —  M.] 

[Ver.  2.  Matthew  Henry  :  Those  whom  God 
designs  honor  and  comfort  for  He  first  makes  sen- 
sible of  their  own  worthlessness,  and  brings  them 
to  acknowledge  with  the  prodigal :  "  I  am  no  more 
worthy  to  be  called  thy  son."  Poverty  and  dis- 
grace sometimes  prove  a  happy  means  of  making 
great  sinners  penitent.  Comp.  the  Exegetical  re- 
marks.—  M.] 

Ver.  4.  Although  it  is  a  great  punishment  of 
God,  that  a  government  should  be  cast  down,  it  is 
yet  a  much  greater  punishment  that  liberty  should 
be  taken  away  to  serve  God  and  teach  his  Word. 

Luther  :  Ver.  5.  These  are  glorious  words  of 
the  Prophet  who  thus  combines  God  and  Christ 
in  worship,  so  that,  when  we  call  upon  God,  we 
should  do  so  through  Christ ;  when  we  hope  in 
the  mercy  of  God  we  hope  through  Christ  that 
God  would  have  mercy  on  us. 

[Pusey  :  So  God's  goodness  overflows  with 
beneficence  and  condescension,  and  graciousness 
and  mercy  and  forgiving  love,  and  joy  in  impart- 
ing Himself,  and  complacence  in  the  creatures 
which  He  has  reformed,  and  refound,  redeemed, 
and  sanctified  for  his  glory.  Well  may  his  creat- 
ures tremble  towards  it  with  admiring  wonder  that 
all  this  can  be  made  theirs !  —  M.] 


CHAPTER  IV.  1-19.  49 


PART  SECOND. 
Jehovah  pleads  with  Israel  his  Beloved  but  Unfaithful  Spousb. 

Chapters  IV.-XIV. 


FIRST  DISCOURSE. 

Chapters   IV.-XI. 

I.    THE  ACCUSATION. 

Chapters  IV.-VII. 


A.     Against  tin  People  as  a  Whole  on  Account  of  their  Idolatry  and  the  Corruption  of 
their  Morals  (promoted  by  the  Priests). 

Chapter  IV.  1-19. 

1  Hear  the  word  of  Jehovah,  ye  children  of  Israel ! 

For  Jehovah  has  a  difference  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  land, 
Because  there  is  no  fidelity  and  no  goodness 
And  no  knowledge  of  God  in  the  land  ; 

2  (Only)  cursing  and  lying, 

And  murdering  and  stealing  and  adultery  ; 
They  break  in,  and  murder  follows  upon  murder. 
S  Therefore  will  the  land  mourn, 

And  all  who  dwell  therein  shall  languish, 

With  the  beast l  of  the  field  and  the  bird  of  heayen ; 

And  the  fish  of  the  sea  also  shall  be  swept  away. 

4  Only  let  none  contend, 

And  let  none  reprove  (another)  ; 

And  thy  people 2  is  like  those  that  strive  with  the  priest. 

5  And  thou  shalt  fall  in  the  day-time. 

And  the  Prophet  also  shall  fall  with  thee  in  the  night, 
And  I  will  destroy  thy  mother. 

6  My  people  are  destroyed  for  want  of  knowledge  ! 8 
Because  thou  despisest  knowledge, 

So  do  I  despise  thee  3  to  be  my  Priest ; 
Because  thou  dost  forget  the  law  of  thy  God, 
I  also  will  forget  thy  children. 

7  The  more  they  increased  the  more  they  sinned  against  ma 
Their  glory  will  I  turn  into  shame. 

8  They  eat  [make  profit  of]  the  sin  of  my  people, 
And  direct  their  desires  after  their  transgressions. 

9  And  so  it  is  :  as  the  people,  so  the  priest, 
And  I  will  visit  their  ways  upon  them, 
And  reward  to  them  their  deeds. 

10  Then  they  shall  eat  and  not  be  satisfied, 

"Will  practice  whoredom  ami  not  spread  abroad, 
Because  they  forgot  *  Jeho'  ah,  to  regard  Him. 


d<7  hose  a. 

11  Whoredom  and  wine  and  new  wine 
"Will  take  (possession  of)  a  heart. 

12  My  people5  inquires  of  its  wood  [idols], 
And  their  staff  shall  declare  to  it ; 

For  the  spirit  of  whoredom  has  deceived  them, 

And  they  commit  whoredom  (departing)  from  under  their  God. 

13  They  sacrifice  on  the  summits  of  the  mountains, 
And  burn  incense  on  the  hills  ; 

Under  the  oak  and  poplar  and  terebinth, 
Because  their  shadow  is  pleasant. 
Therefore  your  daughters  commit  whoredom 
And  your  daughters-in-law  commit  adultery. 

14  Yet  I  will  not  visit  upon  [punish]  your  daughters  because  they  commit  whoredom. 
Nor  your  daughters-in-law  because  they  commit  adultery  ; 

For  they  [you]  themselves  go  aside  with  prostitutes, 

And  sacrifice  with  temple-girls, 

And  the  people  without  understanding  shall  be  cast  down. 

15  If  thou  commit  whoredom,  0  Israel ! 
Let  not  Judah  become  guilty, 

Go  not  to  Gilgal, 

And  ascend  not  to  Beth-aven, 

And  swear  not :  by  the  life  of  Jehovah. 

16  For  Israel  is  as  intractable  as  an  unbroken  heifer; 
Now  Jehovah  will  pasture  them 

Like  a  lamb  in  a  wide  field. 

17  Ephraim  is  joined  to  idols  — let  him  be. 

18  Their  drinking-feast  is  spoiled  ; 
They  keep  on  whoring. 

Their  shields  [rulers]  keep  on  loving  shame.6 

19  The  tempest  seizes  them  with  its  wings : 
And  they  shall  be  ashamed  of  their  sacrifices. 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

[1  Ver.  3. —  21  rVriS.  2  -s  <ised  here  as  in  Geu.  vii.  21 ;  ix.  10,  to  specify  or  enumerate  objects  indicated  be- 
fore in  the  general.     In  usage,  though  not  in  grammatical  function,  it  is  equivalent  to  our  namely.  — 'M.] 

[2  Ver.  4.  —  TT725?'l.  Newcome  gives  a  variety  of  emendations  and  transpositions,  partly  from  other  sources,  in  order 
to  obtain  a  more  natural  sense  than  the  one  he  draws  from  the  text.  He  seems  to  have  been  misled  by  the  difficulty 
»uggested  by  Houbigant,  who  remarks  that  it  could  not  be  a  crime  to  contend  with  idolatrous  priests.     These  of  course 

»re  not  meant.     See  the  exposition.     Among  the  ancient  translators,  the  LXX.,   Aquila,   and  Arab,  read  "^l?  :   my 

people,  which  seems  more  natural  but  is  not  necessary. — M.]  Meier  would  point  differently,  and  reads  tJS^T  ;  with 
thee,  against  thee,  namely,  God,  and  makes  the  negation  continue:  (let  no  one  be)  against  thee.  This  is  forced.  The 
^!"P    would  be  necessary,  and   C57  would  not  be  the  proper  preposition. 

[3  Ver.  6. — We  must  not  read  DV^T  ^  722X3  unexpectedly  (Meier).  The  article  is  essential —  tJSDSPSI.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Masora  the  third  S  is  superfluous,  and  therefore  probably  a  chirographical  error.  According  to  Ewald  it 
Is  an  Aramaic  pausal  form.     [Henderson  :  The  third  S  is  not  found  in  a  great  number  of  Kennicott's  and  De  Rossis 

manuscripts,  nor  in  some  of  the  earlier  printed  editions ;  in  others  it  is  marked  as  redundant,  and  a  few  have  "TDKOS 

>np.  -  m.] 

4  Ver.  10. —  "1X2tt77.  Meier  attaches  this  word  to  the  following  verse:  to  practice  lewdness,  etc.  But  this  is  forced. 
[Henderson  cites  the  similar  view  of  Saadias,  Arnold,  and  Horsley,  but  thinks  "  there  is  something  so  repugnant  to 
Hebrew  usage  in  the  combination  :  to  observe  fornication,  wine  and  new  wine,  that  it  is  altogether  inadmissible."  But 
his  choice  of  the  term  "  observe  "  is  arbitrary.  In  thus  opposing  Horsley,  he  overlooks  the  fact  that  the  latter  renders : 
to  give  attention  to,  a  sense  of  the  word  which  is  not  at  all  repugnant  to  Hebrew  usage.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
tbey  "  neglected  "  Jehovah  or  dropped  Him  from  their  thoughts  ;  the  antithesis  would  naturally  be  :  to  keep  in  mind 
ewdness,  etc.     This  is  the  exact  usage  of  the  word  in  Gen.  xxxvii.  11  ;  Ps.  cxxx.  3.     Hcrsley's  arguments  are  mainly 

based  upon  the  double  anomaly  of  the  construction  as  formerly  assumed,  in  which  3T1?  was  supposed  to  govern  iti 

►bject  indirectly  (and  irregularly)  by  means  of  ^    with  the  infinitive,  and   ~lZ2t£7  was  regarded  as  governing  (agains* 

a«age)  HIIT  as  iti!  direct  object:  they  forsook  to  regard  Jehovah.  3^3?  is  now  admitted  by  some  to  govern  nii~P 
directly,  and  the  pers.  pron.  :  Kim,  is  supplied  after  regard,  as  is  done  by  Schmoller.     But,  even  with  this  construction 

Ule  omission  of  th»  objer*  'n  the  original  after   "ItttL"1  /   would  be  unaccountable  and  very  abrupt.     To  these  oonside' 


CHAPTER   IV.   1-19. 


51 


ttions  this  other  may  be  added,  that  under  the  present  division  of  the  verses,  ver.  11  is  -nade  unusually  briel.  TheM 
lifficulties  in  the  way  of  the  ordinary  constructions  should  lead  us  to  regard  the  subvirsion  of  the  mark  of  division 
between  the  verses  with  more  favor  than  should  ordinarily  be  shown  to  attempts  at  amending  the  text.  The  proposed 
change  would  give  the  translation  :  because  they  have  neglected  Jehovah  to  set  their  minds  on  whoredom  and  wine  and 
new  wine,  (which)  will  take  possession  ot  the  heart.  —  M.] 

[5  Ver.  12.  —  Henderson  :  "The  LXX.  and  most  versions  which  follow  them  connect  "^Sl?  with  ^  ;  at  the  end  of 
the  preceding  verse  ;  a  mode  of  construction  adopted  by  Michaelis  and  Dathe,  but  otherwise  disapproved  by  modere 
translators.  —  M.]  • 

6  Ver.  18.  —  ^Qi"!  'OnM  perhaps  belong  together,  a  piaial  form  from  HHS,  except  that  the  doubling  has  been 
teparated  in   an  extraordinary  manner.     It  is  therefore  really  instead  of  iQrTSnW.     Wiinsche  would  read  5Qi~TS 

2HM  resembling  the  preceding  ^GTH  HJJTn.  [On  this  combination  see  Green,  Gr.,  §§  92  a,  122,  1  ;  Ewald,  §120 
a  ;  Bottcher,  §  1055  b.  These  grammarians,  as  well  as  the  best  critics  generally,  regard  it  as  one  word.  The  form  with 
which  it  is  usually  compared  is  ^2-innZ2^J,  Ps.  lxxxviii.  17.  The  last  named  author  calls  our  form  a  Qetaltal,  cor- 
responding to  the  form  adopted  by  Schinoller.  The  notion  conveyed  by  such  forms  is  that  of  intensity,  or  repetition. 
So  Ewald  :  es  lieben  lieben  Schmach  seine  Schilde.  Comp  the  rendering  of  Delitzscli  in  the  passage  just  cited :  vernieht- 
niehtigt.  If  the  alternative  of  separate  words  be  adopted,  it  would  be  almost  necessary  to  adopt  some  such  expedient 
«j»  that  of  Wiinsche  given  above  ;  for  the  rendering  of  E.  V.  :  her  rulers  with  shame  do  love  ;  give  ye,  is  almost  unin- 
telligible. —  M.] 


EXEOETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

Four  strophes  may  be  supposed  with  Keil  (vers. 
1-5;  6-10;  11-14;  16-19),  although  it  can  hardly 
be  maintained  in  general,  that  our  Prophet  ob- 
serves a  strict  strophical  division. 

Ver.  1 .  Hear  the  word  of  Jehovah,  etc.  Jeho- 
vah appears  against  Israel  as  a  Judge  (that  is,  Is- 
rael of  tne  Ten  Tribes,  comp.  ver.  15),  who  raises 
the  accusation,  and  pronounces  the  sentence  and 
punishment.  In  a  certain  sense  this  first  strophe 
contains  the  sense  of  the  whole.  Jehovah  has  a 
contest  =  legal   action,   comp.  Micah  vi.  2,  and 

with  relation  to  the  heathen,  Joel  iii.  2.  —  HttM  js 

faithfulness,  trueness  to  one's  word.  ""K?n  is  affec- 
tion, kindness,  love.  These  qualities  are  frequently 
mentioned  together ;  usually  as  divine  attributes, 
but  sometimes  also  as  human  virtues.  "ID!"!  is 
here  probably  special  kindness  towards  the  feeble 
and  distressed  (Keil).  The  opposites  are  prima- 
rily moral  defects.  But  they  have  their  root  in 
that  which  is  Israel's  grand  defect,  in  the  want  of 
the  knowledge  of  God,  i.  e.,  they  do  not  know  the 
living  God  or  know  Him  any  longer  —  naturally 
through  their  own  fault  —  since  they  do  not  care 
to  serve  Him. 

Ver.  2.  Along  with  the  negative  description  of 
the  corruption  we  have  the  positive.  The  sins  are 
not  described  by  substantives,  but  are  expressed 
in  a  lively  manner  as  actions  by  verbs,  and  that 
with  special  emphasis  by  the  inf.  absol.  Five  sins 
are  thus  mentioned,  corresponding  to  five  of  the 
Ten  Commandments,  and  at  the  same  time  these 
sins  form  a  definite  contrast  to  fidelity  and  good- 
ness. Swearing  along  with  lying  naturally  = 
false  swearing,  or,  at  all  events,  wanton  swearing. 

*l!Sn£)  forms  the  transition  to  the  finite  verb  ;  the 
last  three  sins,  especially  murder,  are  represented 
in  the  concrete,  and  at  the  same  time  as  something 
fearfully  prevalent.  [The  literal  translation  of  the 
the  last  three  words  is  :  and  bloody  deed  touches 

bloody  deed.  D>S^T  meant  originally  :  drops  of 
blood,  then  transferred  to  deeds  of  blood  in  gen- 
eral, and  it  is  altogether  probable  that  this  word 
was  chosen  here  to  present  to  the  imagination  the 
picture  of  a  swift  succession  of  murderous  assaults, 
ollowing  so  closely  that  drops  of  the  blood  of  one 
victim  might  be  conceived  as  meeting  and  ming- 
Sng  with  those  of  another.     If  so,  this  is  a  strik- 


ing illustration  of  Hosea's  wonderful  power  of 
graphic  poetical  delineation.  Henderson  :  "  What 
the  Prophet  means  is  that  murder  was  so  com- 
mon that  no  space  was  left  between  its  acts. 
LXX. :  alfiara  e(p  a'lfxari  fj.((ryov<n.  Coverdale  :  one 
bloudgiltyness  foloweth  another.  And  Ritterhus- 
ius  powerfully  in  his  poetical  metaphrase:  — 

'  Sic  sanguini  sanguis 

Truditur,  el  scelerum  nullus  Jinisve  modusve  est.'  " 

See  2  Kings  xv. ;  Micah  vii.  2.  —  M.] 

Ver.  3.  Therefore  will  the  land  mourn,  etc. 
The  punishment  of  that  moral  deprivation ;  a 
great  and  universal  drought,  such,  e.  g.,  as  pre- 
vailed under  Ahab,  was  a  judgment  of  God.  This 
is  described  in  its  effects  :  The  mourning  of  the 
land  is  a  lively  figurative  expression  for  the  scorch- 
ing away  of  all  vegetable  productions,  and  the 
languishing  of  animal  life,  and  the  beasts  are 
named,  because  the  drought  was,  so  to  speak,  to 
be  described  from  its  natural  side  (comp.  Joel  i. 
10  ff.).  It  is  just  in  this  condition  of  nature  gen- 
erally that  God  executes  judgment  upon  man. 
The  drought  is  not  to  be  conceived  of  as  existing 
at  present,  but  is  threatened,  as  the  whole  chapter 

generally  is  occupied  with  threatening.  2Up"73 
nS  probably  does  not  refer  to  the  men  them- 
selves but  is   specified  by  the  following  ?,  and 

therefore  refers  to  the  beasts,  etc,  [Keil :  5  is 
used  in  the  enumeration  of  the  individuals  as  in 
Gen.  vii.  21 ;  ix.  10.     The  fishes    are  mentioned 

last,  and  introduced  by  the  emphatic  C3T  to  show 
that  the  drought  would  prevail  to  such  an  extent 
that  even  lakes  and  other  bodies  of  waters  would 

be  dried  up.  HP^r?  '•  to  be  collected,  to  be  taken 
away,  to  disappear  or  perish." —  M.] 

Ver.  4.  Only  let  none  contend,  and  let  none 
reprove,  etc.  These  words  appear  quite  unex- 
pectedly and  are  not  quite  clear.  There  seems  to 
be  a  verbal  reference  to  ver.  1  ;  and  it  may  be  that 
there  is  a  contrast  to  that  contending  there  an- 
nounced on  the  part  of  God.  The  sense  would 
then  be :  The  Lord  will  contend,  but  it  is  pre- 
sumptuous for  men  to  strive  against  Him ;  none 
are  to  contend  or  reprove.  Or  we  might  forego 
the  reference  to  ver.  1 ,  and  explain  generally :  let 
none  contend  or  reprove!  The  hardened  hearts 
of  the  people  would  then  be  referred  to,  who  woulo 
listen  to  no  rebuke.     So  Luther  after  the  Vulgate 


52 


HOSEA. 


yet  let  none  rebuke,  etc.  But  TfS  is  thus  falsely 
rendered.  It  is  not  =  yet.  Therefore  others  hold 
that  there  is  a  demand  "  only  "  to  neglect  plead- 
ing with  and  rebuking  the  corrupt  people.  There 
would  indeed  be  much  to  rebuke,  but  it  would  be 
to  no  purpose  (Keil).  But  this  thought  is  not  suit- 
able to  the  context.     It  is  just  on  the  part  of  God 

that  the  — ""}  does  take  place,  and  is  not  the  whole 
prophetic  discourse  a  rebuke  ?  Others  suppose  a 
demand  to  the  people  not  to  resist  God  and  his 

judgment.  But  O'O'in  will  not  suit  here;  it 
must  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  censuring  :  let  none 
censure  God  and  his  deeds.  The  explanation  of 
Wunsche  is  therefore  better  :  let  none  quarrel  with 
another  and  attribute  to  him  the  blame  of  the  ca- 
lamity. And  thy  people  as  those  who  contend 
with  the  priest,  that  is,  are  like  those,  etc.  With 
the  first  explanation  of  the  preceding  words,  the 
ones  now  considered  would  surround  them  with 
still  greater  difficulties :  let  none  contend  —  uttered 
with  respect  to  the  spirit  of  contradiction  among 
the  people  —  and  they  act  as,  etc.  With  the  sec- 
ond explanation  the  words  serve  to  support  the 
preceding,  to  show  the  uselessness  of  contending 
and  rebuking :  yet  thy  people  are  like,  etc.  The 
explanation  of  Wunsche  shows  the  best  connec- 
tion :  the  reason  is  given  why  none  should  re- 
proach the  others :  the  whole  people  arc  alike.  In 
form  however  the  sentence  is  not  a  confirmatory 

one,  being  simply  coordinated  by  "}  [This  objec- 
tion is  not  conclusive.  1  very  often  introduces  a 
reason.  See  Green,. Or.,  §  287,  1.  The  opinion 
assigned  to  Wunsche  is  that  not  only  adopted  in 
E.  V.  but  approved  by  most  of  the  recent  English 
commentators.  Noyes  prefers  the  view  assigned 
above  to  Keil.  On  attempts  to  amend  the  text 
for  other  renderings,  see  the  Textual  note.  —  M.] 
Contend  with  the  priest  —  an  unexpected  ex- 
pression, perhaps  to  be  explained  by  Deut.  xvii. 
12  f.  The  people  are  like  those  who  in  the  Law 
are  described  as  rebels  against  the  authority  of  the 
priest.  They  are  therefore  those  who  would  not 
allow  themselves  to  be  directed  aright  by  those 
whose  prerogative  it  was  to  direct  them  (Heng- 
stenberg,  Keil). 

Ver.  5.  '??3  naturally  refers  to  the  punish- 
ment [as  the  cause  of  the  fall  (destruction)  of  the 
people,  whom  the  Prophet  now  directly  addresses. 
—  M.]  Prophet,  naturally  =  false  prophets  (comp. 
1  Kings  xxii.  6  ff. ),  "  who  followed  prophesying  as 
a  source  of  gain."  In  the  day,  —  by  night:  a 
figurative  representation  distributed  according  to 
the  members  of  the  sentence.  The  meaning  is  : 
the  people  and  prophets  shall  fall  all  the  time. 
And  I  will  destroy  thy  mother  =  the  whole  na- 
tion conceived  of  as  the  mother  of  the  children  of 
Israel. 

Ver.   5.     My   people    is    destroyed.         r-?'? 

^P?U)  not:  unawares  (Meier),  but:  from  want 
of  knowledge  [see  Gram,  note],  t.  e.,  chiefly, 
knowledge  of  God.  Yet  the  expression  is  to  be 
taken  primarily  in  its  general  reference ;  compare 
the  beginning  and  end  of  the  next  strophe  [vers. 
11-14].  This  want  of  knowledge  is  blameworthy, 
i.  despising  of  knowledge.  This  shows  the  nearer 
reference  to  be  to  the  knowledge  of  God.  Israel 
rould  have  gained  this  from  the  law,  but  had  for- 
potten  that  law.  And  I  will  despise  thee  from 
being  a  priest  to  me.  This  does  not  refer  to  the 
priest  simply.     All  Israel,  according  to  Ex.  xix.  6, 


was  to  be  a  priestly  people,  and  to  be  thus  distin- 
guished from  the  heathen,  the  profane.  But  thej 
were  to  forfeit  this  high  prerogative.  The  notion 
therefore  =  "  shall  be  not-my-people,"  chaps,  i.-ii. 

Ver.  7.  The  more  they  increased,  not  merely 
in  numbers,  but  in  prosperity,  power,  etc.,  —  the 
more  they  sinned ;  comp.  ii.  7.  They  ascribed 
this  prosperity  to  their  idols,  and  were  thus  con 
finned  in  idolatry.  Accordingly  Israel's  glory, 
consisting  in  their  richness  and  greatness,  shall  be 
turned  into  shame,  i.  e.,  they  shall  lose  their  glory 
and  stand  dishonored. 

Ver.  8.  A  transition  to  the  Priests,  according 
to  the  purport  of  the  words,  and  the  beginning  of 
ver.  9.  They  eat  the  sin  of  my  people.  They 
live  upon,  derive  their  support  from,  the  sin  of  the 
people.  That  is  their  right  to  do  so,  the  more  the 
people  sin,  i.  e.,  serve  idols.  For  the  very  exist- 
ence of  the  idol  priesthood  depended  upon  the 
idolatry  of  the  people.    Keil,  still  more  specially, 

makes  ^37  HStSH  =  sin-offering  of  the  people 
(so  also  Luther).  In  the  Law  the  priest  was  en- 
joined to  eat  the  flesh  of  the  sin-offering  to  blot 
out  the  sin  of  the  people  (Lev.  vi.  19).  But  that 
became  sin  to  the  priests,  because  (second  member 
of  the  verse)  they  directed  their  desires  towards 
the  transgression  of  the  people,  that  is,  wished 
their  transgressions  to  multiply,  so  as  to  acquire  a 
large  supply  of  food  from  their  offerings.  The  pe- 
culiar expression  :  eat  the  sin,  may  still  bear  allu- 
sion to  the  sacrificial  ritual.  But  the  notion  is  prob- 
ably more  general :  they  live  upon  the  sin  =  the 
idolatry  of  the  people,  as  they  eat  the  flesh  of  the 
sacrifice  offered  to  idols.  He  lifts  up  his  soul 
towards  =  directs  his  desires  towards.  The  sin- 
gular suffix  is  anomalous ;  it  is  perhaps  distribu- 
tive :  each  one  lilts  up  his  soul.  The  meaning  of 
the  whole  would  be  :  Since  they  live  upon  the  sin 
of  my  people,  they  wish  for  nothing  more  earnestly 
than  that  the  people  should  keep  on  sinning  more 
and  more,  namely,  in  idolatry.  [So  the  expositors 
generally.  —  M.] 

Ver.  9.  Since  the  priests  go  hand  in  hand  with 
the  people,  the  people  serving  idols  and  the  priests 
desiring  their  idolatry,  a  like  punishment  will  over- 
take them  all.  [Henderson  :  "  The  rank  and  wealth, 
of  the  priests  will  not  exempt  them  from  sharing 
the  same  fate  with  the  rest  of  the  nation."  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.  They  will  eat,  etc.  "Eat"  refers 
back  to  ver.  8,  and  therefore  the  primary  reference 
is  to  the  priests— i:Tn-  The  usual  force  of  the 
hiphil  =  entice  to  whoredom,  w-ould  hardly  suit 
here,  although  it  is  the  priests  who  are  spoken  of. 
The  addition  :1!T")D>  T7\  is  unsuitable  to  this 
sense,  for  an  extension  by  the  procreation  of  chil- 
dren, which  is  here  denied  of  them,  could  be  predi- 
cated of  those  who  commit  whoredom,  but  not  of 
those  who  only  seduce  others  into  that  sin.  There- 
fore it  probably  =  a  strengthened  kal,  as  in  ver. 
18;  2  Chron.  xxi.  13.  The  literal  signification 
cannot  here  be  excluded,  if  we  take  into  account 
the  conclusion  of  the  verse,  and  especially  the  par- 
allelism with  "eat."  Ver.  11,  also,  necessitates 
the  conjunction  of  whoredom  with  "wine  and 
must  "  =  debauchery,  and  thus  supports  the  lit 
eral  interpretation,  as  also  in  vers.  13,  14,  the 
daughters  are  said  to  be  actual  whores.  But  yet 
all  this  is  onlv  the  consequerce  of  spiritual 
whoredom  =  idolatry,  and  in  closest  connection 
with  it.  It  is  that  "which  is  to  be  rebuked,  and 
the  figurative  sense  therefore  predominates  in 
ver.  12,  where  idolatrous  practices  are  special'- 


CHAPTER  IV.  1-19. 


5b 


denounced,  in  the  expression  :  spirit  of  whore- 
dom. Whoredom  as  a  consequence  of  idolatry, 
and  as  connected  with  it,  and  idolatry  itself,  are 
to  the  prophet  perfectly  identical,  because  insep- 
arably united.  The  reason  why  they  will  not 
be  satisfied  or  be  extended,  which  are  negative  ex- 
pressions affirming  strongly  their  opposite,  is  that 
they  forsook  to  regard.  The  expression  refers 
to  Jehovah  :  they  forsook  Jehovah,  to  keep  Him, 
to  regard,  to  honor  Him  (comp.  Fs.  xxxi.  7  ;  Prov. 
xxvii.  18)=  they  forsook  Him  and  ceased  to  re- 
gard, honor  Him.     [See  Gram.  note.  —  M.] 

Ver.  11.  Whoredom  and  wine  and  new  wine 
takes  possession  of  the  heart,  2  v,  "  the  centre  of 
the  whole  spiritual  and  moral  life,  the  understand- 
ing, the  will,  and  the  sensibilities"  (Wunsche). 
Hence  the  capture  of  the  heart=the  obscuring 
and  perversion  of  the  understanding  and  the  will, 
expressing  generally  the  intellectually  and  morally 
polluting  influence  of  a  life  given  up  to  sensual 
enjoyment.  Then  in  the  first  member  of  ver.  12 
a  proof  of  this  is  adduced,  —  a  special  instance  of 
apostasy  from  the  living  God. 

Ver.  12.  i2»5  bKtP,  inquire  of  idols  framed 
of  wood,  especially  teraphim,  in  order  to  gain  a 
divine    revelation ;    in    direct    contrast  to    /SEP 

njrP.  The  reproach  is  made  keener  by  the  con- 
trasted words  :  my  people,  their  wood  :  the  people 
who  are  Jehovah's  seek  to  wood,  which  is  made 
their  god  instead  of  Jehovah.  Their  staff  shall 
instruct  them.  This  was  the  so-called  rhabdo- 
mancy :  two  staves  placed  upright  were  allowed 
to  fall  while  incantations  were  being  repeated,  and 
an  oracular  response  was  supposed  to  be  given  by 
the  direction  of  its  fall,  backwards  or  forwards,  to 
the  right  or  to  the  left.  [So  described  by  Cyril  of 
Alexandria.  Compare  the  use  of  divining-rods 
or  wishing-rods.  —  M.]  This  course  of  action  is 
expressly  attributed  to  the  influence  of  a  spirit  of 
whoredom:  idolatry  (in  connection  with  its  conse- 
quences, whoredom  and  debauchery)  is  a  seduc- 
tive, demoniacal  power,  which  they  could  no  longer 

resist.     7S  nn.F15!p,  literally,    from    under    their 

God,  like  "^DNE  (i.  2),  the  normal  relation  to 
God  is  here  regarded  as  one  of  subjection.  It  is 
from  this  that  they  withdraw  themselves. 

Ver.  13.  Upon  the  summits  of  the  moun- 
tains, etc.  (comp.  Deut.  xii.  2  ;  Jer.  ii.  20  ;  iii.  6  ; 
Ezek.  vi.  13).  Mountains  and  hills,  as  is  well 
known,  were  favorite  places  for  idolatrous  wor- 
ship. So  also  were  green  and  shady  trees  in 
pleasant  places  (here  specified  instead  of  the 
usual  general  expression,  "  under  every  green 
tree  ").  "  Therefore  "  =  because  the  places  of  idol- 
worship  everywhere  arranged  gave  abundant  op- 
portunity, therefore  your  daughters  commit  lewd- 
ness (Keil).  "Lewdness"  is  here,  at  all  events, 
used  in  its  literal  sense,  see  especially  ver.  14, 
second  part.  The  prostitution  of  young  maidens 
and  of  wives  formed  an  essential  portion  of  the  na- 
ture-worship of  Babylon  and  Canaan.  It  would 
seem  from  the  mention  of  temple-girls  in  ver.  14 
.hat  the  worship  of  Astarte,  or  something  similar, 
s  implied.  But,  even  apart  from  this,  the  sensuous 
character  of  idolatry  commonly  induced  unchaste 
practices. 

Ver.  14.  Those  who  are  young  cannot  be  blamed, 

for  those  who  are  older  are  worse  still.  OH  :  they  = 

»usbands   and  fathers.    T1S,     here  intransitive : '  drinking-bout.     Fiirst   assumes    besides    "TO    t« 


to  go  aside  in  order  to  be  alone  with  the  7Tb  Yt 
^\7rj  is  one  who  is  consecrated  to  the  service  of 
Astarte,  or  some  similar  Canaanitish  divinity , 
women  who  prostituted  themselves  for  gain.  Offer 
with  the  temple-girls  :  appear  with  them  at  the 
altar.  To  such  an  extent  did  they  carry  their  im- 
pudence and  shamelessness.  At"  the  end  of  tbe 
strophe  want  of  understanding  is  again  empha 
sized  ;  it  is  this  that  brings  them  to  their  fall. 

Vers.  15-19  contain  a  warning  to  Judah  not 
to  participate  in  Israel's  idolatry  and  shameless 
conduct,  in  order  to  escape  the  dreadful  ruin  of 
the  former. 

Ver.  15.  If  thou,  Israel,  dost  commit  whore- 
dom. Whoredom  is  here  predominantly  employed 
in  its  metaphorical,  but  includes  also  the  literal 
sense.  A  participation  in  Israel's  idolatry  would 
have  been  induced  by  pilgrimages  to  the  shrines 
of  the  ten  tribes,  which  still,  presumably,  were 
made.  Such  places  were  :  Gilgal,  southwest  from 
Shiloh,  now  Djidjilia,  formerly  the  seat  of  a 
School  of  the  Prophets  (2  Kings  ii.  1  ;  iv.  38) ;  later 
a  seat  of  idolatrous  worship,  and  mentioned  as 
such  besides  in  our  Prophet,  Lx.  15;  xii.  12,  and 
Amos  iv.  4 ;  v.  5 ;  and  Bethel,  south  of  Gilgal, 
near  the  borders  of  Israel  and  Judah  ;  now  Betin. 
This  is  probably  meant  here  by  Beth-Aven,  the 
name  being  intentionally  changed ;  comp.  Amos 
v.  5  ;  mentioned  also  in  Amos  iv.  4  along  with 
Gilgal.  Swear  not :  by  the  life  of  Jehovah. 
This  cannot  be  forbidden  in  itself,  for  in  Deut.  vi. 
13;  xx.  20  it  is  directly  enjoined.  Swearing  applied 
to  the  service  of  idolatry  must  be  meant,  and  that 
iu  the  two  places  above-mentioned.  It  appears 
evident  that  certain  formulas  of  swearing  charac- 
teristic of  Jehovah's  worship  were  employed  in 
idolatrous  service,  and  that  for  the  purpose  of  giv- 
ing to  the  latter  a  seeming  justification. 

Ver.  16.  The  punishment  of  Israel  is  pointed 
out  in  order  to  strengthen  the  warning  to  Judah. 

~^^»  intractable,  stubborn,  will  not  be  subject  to 
God.  God  then  gives  them  a  free  course  —  bitter 
irony,  —  like  a  sheep  on  a  wide  plain  :  that  is,  they 
shall  be  dispersed  far  and  wide.  [Henderson : 
"  The  latter  hemistich  contains  the  language  of 
irony.  As  lambs  are  fond  of  ranging  at  large,  but 
are  in  danger  of  being  lost  or  devoured,  so  God 
threatens  to  remove  the  Israelites  into  a  distant 
and  large  country,  where  they  would  be  separated 
from  those  with  whom  they  associated  in  idolatrous 
worship,  and  thus  be  left  solitary  and  exposed  as 
in  a  wilderness.  The  phrase,  to  feed  in  a  large 
place,  is  elsewhere  used  in  a  good  sense.  Is.  xxx. 
23."  —  M.] 

Ver.  17.  Joined  to  idols,  i.  e.,  joined  to  them 
so  fast  that  they  cannot  give  them  up ;  therefore 

probably  i7_ri2n  =let  them,  that  is,  keep  on,  let 
them  serve  idols  forever,  the  punishment  will  not 
delay.  Ephraim  was  the  most  powerful  of  the  ten 
tribes,  and  therefore  often  stands  for  the  ten  tribes 
generally.  [The  other  interpretation,  not  so  much 
favored,  but  numbering  amongst  its  supporters 
Jerome,  Grotius,  Rosenmiiller,  and  Maurer,  i?  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Judah  are  commanded  to  :iava 
nothing  to  do  with  the  idolatry  of  Israel.  Thii 
view  has  also  the  support  of  Cowles,  but  the  other 
is  approved  by  the  majority  of  the  English  ex 
positors.  —  M.] 

Ver.  18.  A  difficult  one.     SDD  liquor,  then:  a 


64 


HOSEA. 


turn  aside,  another  ""flD  to  become  worthless  or 
torrupt,  here  =  to  be  spoiled.  So  also  Keil  [so 
also  Ewald,  Horsloy,  Pusey,  and  others,  with  E. 
V.  —  M.].  Meier  takes  it  in  the  usual  sense,  to 
be  removed,  disappear  :  their  carousing  has  disap- 
peared. He  then  takes  the  following  as  in  sense  a 
dependent  sentence:  the  carousing  of  those  who 
commit  whoredom,  whose  shields,  etc.  But  this 
is  rather  artificial.  To  be  sure,  the  mention  of  the 
punishment  might  be  expected  here,  but  it  is  just 
as  suitable  that  ver.  18  should  describe  only  their 
wicked  conduct,  and  ver.  19  pictures  them  as  being 
seized  by  a  storm-wind  in  the  midst  of  it.  [Hen- 
lerson  translates  the  first  clause  :  when  their  car- 
ousals are   over  they  indulge  in  lewdness.     Here 

— S  is  supposed  to  be  omitted.  Cowles  suggests 
the  impossible  explanation:  He  (Ephraim)  be- 
comes more  apostate  from  God  through  strong 
think. — M.J  Along  with  their  debauchery  they 
commit  whoredom, — again  in  the  double  sense, 
[tor  the  construction  of  the  next  clause,  see  Gram. 
note.  —  M.]  The  shame  which  they  love  is  not 
expressed,  but  is  clearly  enough  contained  in  the 
two  preceding  hemistichs,  therefore  =  shameful 
conduct  in  a  moral  sense  ;  not  =  what  brings  dis- 
grace upon  them  in  its  punishment.  Her  shields 
=  her  princes,  as  defenders  of  the  people.  "  Her  " 
refers  to  Ephraim,  regarded  as  the  wife.  The 
I'rinces  are  named  specially  :  the  whole  nation  is 
corrupt  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 

Ver.  19.   In  the  midst  of  their  sins  destruction 
carries  them  away  like  a  tempest  with  irresistible 

force.  ""H?  =  bind  together ;  seize  upon.  It  is 
the  prophetic  preterite.  The  tempest  is  regarded 
as  already  present.  DHrC-Tp  ^273").  This  means 
either  that  they  shall  be  shamed  away  from  their 
sacrifices,  because  they  were  proved  not  to  be  able 
to  help  them,  or  that  they  shall  be  ashamed  of  their 
sacrifices.  The  sense  is  that  both  they  and  their 
sacrifices  would  be  put  to  shame. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1.  With  bold  freedom  and  with  holy  earnestness 
the  Prophet  here  displays  a  picture  of  the  religious 
and  moral  corruption  of  the  nation,  before  which 
we  tremble.  He  has  an  eye  open  for  both,  and 
expresses  most  clearly  the  inseparable  connection 
between  religion  and  morality.  Not  only  is  im- 
morality censured,  but  the  religious  depravation 
also  (vers.  1-6,  10-12,  13),  so  that  it  may  be  clearly 
perceived  that  this  religious  decline  is  the  source 
of  the  moral  corruption,  and  therefore  the  (true) 
religion,  that  belief  in  Jehovah  is  the  root  of  all 
morality.  Observe  here  how  the  knowledge  of 
God  is  exhibited  as  the  essence  of  religion,  and 
the  want  of  this  knowledge  as  the  great  error  in 
connection  with  religion.  Apostasy  from  God 
therefore  consists  or  is  rooted  in  the  loss  of  the 
knowledge  of  Him,  which  includes  not  merely  a 
theoretical  cognition,  but  also  belief  in  Him,  as 
the  self-revealed  God,  and  the  acquaintance  and 
'ntimacy  with  Him  thence  drawn  by  experience. 
It  is  thus  that  Hosca  elsewhere  also  insists  upon 
the  "knowledge  of  Jehovah"  (v.  4;  vi.  3,  and 
(specially  6).  In  contrast  hereto  the  idolater  is 
lescribed  as  one  who  is  "joined  to  idols  "  (ver.  17), 
enters  into  conjugal  intercourse  with  them.  The 
Prophet,  however,  does  not,  in  a  one-sided  fashion, 
pay  exclusive  attention  to  the  conduct  of  the  peo- 
ple with  respect  to  religion,  but  lavs  just  as  much 


stress  upon  the  moral  consequences  of  their  relig 
ious  decline.  In  his  several  pictures  he  brandi 
and  rebukes  the  depravation  of  morals  ;  want  of 
fidelity  and  goodness,  swearing,  lying,  stealing, 
murder,  and  adultery.  Murdering  and  stealing, 
probably  includes  also  deeds  of  violence  commit- 
ted against  the  poor,  defenseless,  etc.  Special 
frominence  is  given  to  sins  against  the  Sixth 
Seventh]  Commandment,  which,  on  the  basis  of 
idolatry  raged  so  violently  in  consequence  of  the 
terrible  increase  of  unchaste  practices  during  the 
prevalence  of  heathen  religion  and  rites.  The 
morally  destructive  influence  of  devotion  to  sen- 
sual and  fleshly  lusts  is  aptly  described  in  the  re- 
buke of  ver.  1 1  :  it  takes  possession  of  the  heart, 
and  the  extent  of  that  influence  is  shown  in  vers. 
13,  14,  where  the  complete  destruction  of  all  mo- 
rality in  domestic  life  is  described.  A  large  element 
of  the  moral  corruption  is  the  influence  exerted  by 
the  corruption  of  the  priests  who  make  gain  of  the 
people's  sins  (vers.  8,  9),  partly  also  of  the  proph- 
ets. It  is  also  here  to  be  observed  how,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  moral  corruption  hastens  the  re- 
ligious ruin  of  the  people,  drawn  as  they  are  ever 
further  from  God,  and  led  deeper  into  idolatry, 
superstition,  and  unbelief.  Comp.  ver.  12  in  re- 
lation to  ver.  11.  In  ver.  12  b,  it  is  clearly  indi- 
cated that  men,  through  their  estrangement  from 
God  and  their  immoral  conduct,  lose  the  power  of 
voluntary  self-determination,  and  become  subject 
to  a  power,  and  evil  "  spirit,"  which  they  must 
follow,  and,  in  the  end,  against  their  bitter  feel- 
ings. Where  such  universal  corruption  obtains  a 
spirit  will  prevail  by  which  the  individual  is  easily 
borne  along  with  it  (comp.  also  chap.  v.  4). 

2.  Jehovah  has  a  contest  with  Israel  (ver.  1). 
The  expression  evidently  rests  upon  the  covenant- 
relation  in  which  two  parties  assume  obligations 
conditioned  on  both  sides.  Israel  with  God  and 
God  with  Israel.  The  relation  is  therefore  a  legal 
one.  The  one  party  is  bound  only  so  long  as  the 
other  fulfills  his  obligations  ;  if  one  party  does  not 
fulfill  them,  the  other  may  accuse  him  of  an  in- 
fringement of  the  compact  and  institute  legal  pro- 
ceedings against  him.  Thus  Jehovah  has  a  "'  suit- 
at-law"  with  Israel,  because  the  latter  did  not 
fulfill  its  obligations.  In  Joel  iv.  2  the  expression 
has  a  more  general  application  to  the  judgment 
which  God  is  to  inflict  upon  the  heathen  ;  for  they 
are  also  related  to  Jehovah  as  the  Lord  of  the 
world.  He  will  not  be  unjust  with  them,  will  not 
subject  them  to  disadvantages,  and  will  not  do 
them  injustice  through  his  people;  but  they  are 
not  to  infringe  upon  his  rights,  among  which  is 
his  special  relation  to  Israel.  Attacking  this,  they 
attack  Him  also :  hence  this  controversy  with 
them.  But  alas  !  there  is  a  dispute  between  Jeho- 
vah and  his  own  people  :  instead  of  being  united 
they  are  divided  into  two  opposing  parties.  Be- 
cause the  land,  shorn  of  fidelity,  goodness,  etc.,  if 
brought  to  shame  through  sin  and  infamous  deeds 
(vers.  1,  2),  it  shall  mourn  and  languish  (ver.  3; 
—  be  visited  by  drought  —  as  the  punishment  de- 
creed by  God.  If  this  "  languishing  "  is  extended 
even  to  the  unintelligent  creation,  such  a  dispensa- 
tion would  express  not  merely  the  extent  and  de- 
gree of  the  visitation,  but  would  show  the  lower 
animals  to  be  also  included  in  the  punishment. 
Man,  as  lord  of  creation,  has  by  his  sin  brought 
punishment  upon  the  rest  of  the  animal  world 
though  these  have  not  sinned,  they  must  suffei 
with  their  master  on  account  of  his  guilt.  The 
punishment  is  elsewhere  also  set  closely  parallel  t« 
the  guilt :  in  ver.  9   and  especially  in  ver.  6 :  !>e 


CHAPTER  IV.   1-19. 


5* 


cause  Israel  has  despised  and  forgotten  God,  He 
shall  also  despise  and  forget  them.  In  particular, 
they  show  themselves  unworthy  of  the  high  pre- 
rogative of  being  Jehovah's  priest,  to  which  they 
were  really  called  as  being  the  chosen  people. 

3.  Between  Israel  and  Judah  there  was  always 
an  important  distinction  morally  and  religiously. 
Hence  the  kingdom  of  Israel  could  be  held  before 
to  the  kingdom  of  Judah  as  a  warning  example. 
And  this  must  be  done  :  for  it  may  easily  be  un- 
derstood how  the  example  of  Israel  was  most 
dangerous  to  Judah.  We  feel  clearly,  when  the 
Prophet  utters  the  warning  :  "  If  thou  dost  com- 
mit whoredom,  U  Israel,  let  not  Judah  become 
guilty,"  how  warmly  his  heart  beats  for  Judah. 
He  regards  Judah  not  merely  as  a  kingdom  of 
kindred  origin,  but  as  the  one  which,  after  Israel's 
apostasy,  represented  alone  the  people  of  God,  and 
thus  he  must  all  the  more  desire  to  have  Judah 
preserved  from  Israel's  ways.  The  position  of  a 
Prophet  like  Hosea,  who  was  a  citizen  of  the 
northern  kingdom,  was  peculiar.  In  the  discord 
that  existed  between  Israel  and  Judah,  such  warm 
sympathy  with  the  one  would  hardly  be  expected 
from  a  citizen  of  the  other.  But  with  a  Prophet  of 
Jehovah  theocratic  feelings,  higher  than  natural 
ones,  must  prevail.  In  Judah  was  Jerusalem  with 
the  temple ;  in  Judah  the  House  of  David  ruled  ; 
Judah  was  always  comparatively  more  faithful  to 
God,  and  that  was  decisive.  His  heart  must  there- 
fore turn  towards  Judah.  He  could  regard  the 
separation  of  Israel  from  Judah,  partly  in  itself 
and  partly  on  account  of  its  disastrous  conse- 
quences especially  to  Israel,  which  were  so  clearly 
manifested,  only  as  something  utterly  false  and 
unrighteous,  as  an  act  of  injustice,  and  would  be- 
hold the  nation  only  in  both  kingdoms,  so  that 
the  theocratic  conception  was  in  the  deeper  sense 
also  the  natural  one.  Yet  in  this  he  displayed 
his  patriotism  even  in  respect  to  his  nearer  home, 
just  in  his  earnest  testimony  against  the  prevail- 
ing corruption,  whose  consequence  he  foresaw 
would  be  certain  ruin.  Hosea  certainly  does  not 
expect  this  ruin  to  be  averted,  but  only  expects  a 
religious  and  moral  renovation  through  its  influ- 
ence, with  which  he  could  not  but  see  the  restora- 
tion of  the  national  unity  necessarily  united.  See 
further  No.  4  in  the  Doctrinal  and  Ethical  section 
on  chaps,  v.  and  vi. 


HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Luther:  Ver.  1.  Who  will  stand  in  the  judg- 
ment in  which  he  is  accused  by  God  1  For  then  it 
will  be  no  argument  of  words  as  before  an  earthly 
judge,  but  we  ourselves  bring  against  ourselves 
the  testimony  of  our  consciences  as  our  indict- 
ment. What  is  the  source  of  this  evil  in  the 
world,  that  nothing  true  is  found,  but  everything 
is  done  from  a  false  heart,  and  that  nowhere  can 
any  evidence  of  honest  kindness  be  seen  1  The 
reason  is,  because  there  is  no  knowledge  of  God 
in  the  land,  i.  e.,  because  men  despise  God's  Word. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Sin  is  the  great  mischief- 
maker  :  it  sows  discord  between  God  and  Israel : 
God's  controversies  will  be  pleaded ;  pleaded  by 
the  judgments  of  his  mouth  before  they  are  pleaded 
by  the  judgments  of  his  hand,  that  He  may  be 
justified  in  all  He  doth,  and  may  make  it  appear 
that  He  does  not  desire  the  death  of  sinners.  And 
Sod's  pleadings  ought  to  be  attended  to,  for  sooner 
"»r  later  they  shall  have  a  hearing.  —  M.] 

Ver   -2.     Wurt.   Siwim.  :  Faithfulness  and  sin- 


cerity among  a  people  are  like  great  and  precioni 
jewels  in  a  land.  So  also  are  paternal  confidence 
and  love  and  pure  and  faithful  preachers  of  the  Word 
of  God.  So  there  is  no  greater  need  than  when 
these  things  are  absent;  and  especially  when  God's 
Word  and  pure  teachers  and  preachers  are  want- 
ing. This  is  the  fountain  of  all  evil.  For  God's 
Word  keeps  sin  at  a  distance.  Where  it  is  not,  oi 
where  it  is  not  preached  in  its  simplicity  and  purity, 
or  men  will  not  be  reproved  by  it,  nor  follow  it, 
nor  amend  their  ways,  there  one  blood-guiltiness 
and  deadly  sin  follow  after  another,  and  all  kinds 
of  evil  break  in  like  a  flood. 

[Pusey:  Speculative  and  practical  knowledge 
are  bound  up  together,  through  the  oneness  of  the 
relation  of  the  soul  to  God,  whether  in  its  thoughts 
of  Him  or  acts  towards  Him.  Wrong  practice 
corrupts  belief,  and  misbelief  corrupts  practice. — 
M.J 

Ver.  4.  Luther  :  It  is  not  so  great  an  offence 
for  men  to  sin  as  for  them  not  to  be  willing  to 
suffer  the  reproval  of  sin.  For  when  they  live  in 
such  a  way  as  that  their  hearts  have  a  horror  of 
the  cure  of  their  malady,  punishment  can  no  longer 
delay.  This  sin  is  the  most  common  of  our  time. 
Just  look  at  Christian  churches,  and  you  will  see 
everywhere  that  the  teachers  are  hated  for  rebuk 
ing  sin  so  freely.  But  this  only  excites  God's 
wrath  more  fiercely  against  us.  For  not  man  but 
God  rebukes  and  challenges  the  sinner. 

Ver.  6.  God  will  not  be  mocked.  Men  may  re- 
ject God,  but  He  is  still  beside  them,  and  shows 
that  He  is  there  in  his  judgments.  The  self-decep- 
tion of  sin  :  in  rejecting  God  (forgetting  his  com- 
mands) thou  doest  so  as  one  who  is  rejected  by  Him. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Ignorance  is  so  far  from 
being  the  mother  of  devotion  that  it  is  the  mother 
of  destruction. 

Pusey  :  In  an  advanced  stage  of  sin,  men  may 
come  to  forget  what  they  once  despised.  —  M.] 

Ver.  8.  There  is  nothing  more  shameful  than 
to  draw  profit  from  the  sin  of  our  neighbor,  and 
thus  to  strengthen  him  in  his  sin,  or  become  the 
occasion  of  his  sinning;  doubly  shameful  if  we 
abuse  our  office  and  more  exalted  position  to 
do  so. 

[Posey  :  What  else  is  to  extenuate  or  flatter 
sin  than  to  dissemble  it,  not  to  see  it,  not  openly 
to  denounce  it,  lest  we  lose  our  popularity,  or 
alienate  those  who  commit  it  1  —  M.] 

[Ver.  9.  Matthew  Henry  :  Sharers  in  sin 
must  expect  to  be  sharers  in  ruin.  — M.J 

[Ver.  10.  Pusey  :  Single  marriage,  according 
to  God's  law  :  "  they  twain  shall  be  one  flesh," 
yields  in  a  nation  a  larger  increase  than  polygamy. 
Illicit  intercourse  God  turns  to  decay.  His  curse 
is  upon  it.  — M.] 

Ver.  11.  Luther:  These  two  vices,  whoredom 
and  debauchery,  so  take  possession  of  a  man  that 
he  does  not  know  what  he  thinks,  speaks,  or  does. 
The  boy  Cyrus  in  Xenophon  admirably  says,  that 
wine  is  mixed  with  poison.  And  the  saying  of 
Archilochus,  with  reference  to  impure  love,  is  well 
known  :  — 

"  noAAije  kolt  tpois  avAiiy  by.fj.6.Tu>v  exevev 
KAe'i/ras  €K  arrjddo>v  affa-'-as  §ftiva.<s. 

Comp.  Luke  xxi.  34 ;  Eph.  v.  18. 

Ver.  12.  Lother  :  The  spirit  of  whoredom  is 
that  evil  spirit  which  takes  away  from  men's  hearts 
true  thoughts  of  God,  and  either  perverts  theii 
hearts,  or  entirely  subdues  them  by  filling  them 
with  trust  in  the  creature,  which  is  true  and  sheer 
idolatry.     For  idolatry  does  not  consist  merely  in 


56 


HO  SEA. 


calling  upon  idols,  but  also  in  trust  in  our  own 
righteousness,  works,  and  service,  in  riches  and 
human  influence  and  power.  And  this,  as  it  is  the 
most  common,  is  also  the  most  harmful  idolatry. 

[Puset  :  The  sins  of  the  fathers  descend  very 
ottrn  to  the  children,  both  in  the  way  of  nature, 
that  the  children  inherit  strong  temptations  to  their 
parents'  sin,  and  by  way  of  example,  that  they 
greedily  imitate,  often  exaggerate  them.  Wouldst 
thou  not  have  children  which  thou  wouldst  wish 
tinhorn,  reform  thyself.  —  M.] 

Ver.  13.  Wurt.  Summ.  :  Corporeal  and  spirit- 
ual whoredom  are  commonly  united,  and  mutu- 
ally dependent.  For  how  should  he  who  does  not 
abhor  a  departure  from  God  through  idolatry,  ab 
hor  a  life  abandoned  to  fleshly  lusts  ?  For  idolatry 
is  a  much  greater  sin  than  corporeal  indulgence  : 
the  one  offends  against  the  first  table  of  the  law 
and  against  God  Himself,  but  the  other  against 
the  second  table  and  our  neighbor. 

Starke  :  When  worship  is  performed  in  any 
other  way  than  God  has  appointed,  God  »s  hon- 
ored no  longer,  and  idolatry  is  committed. 

Ver.  14.  Experience  teaches  that  children  are 
prone  to  imitate  the  shameful  and  unchaste  lives 
of  their  parents.  When  such  is  the  case  the  par- 
ents are  most  responsible  ;  they  deserve  the  chief 
punishment. 

Luther  :  If  God  gives  his  Word  to  men,  and 
they  will  not  receive  his  instructions,  what  else 
should  He  do  with  them,  than  give  them  up  to  a 
reprobate  mind,  i.  e.,  let  them  live  on  according  to 
their  own  counsel  and  pleasure,  until  they  finally 
perish  ? 

[Clarke  :  While  there  is  hope,  there  is  correc- 
tion. 

Pdsey  :  To  be  chastened  severely  for  lesser  sins 
is  a  token  of  the  great  love  of  God  toward  us.  To 
sin  on  without  punishment  is  a  token  of  God's 
extremest  displeasure  and  a  sign  of  reprobation. 
"  Great  is  the  offense,  if,  when  thou  hast  sinned, 
thou  art  undeserving  of  the  wrath  of  God."  —  M.j 


Ver.  15.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk  :  Ye  pious  and 
true  believers,  let  not  the  ungodly  seduce  you  to 
follow  their  steps,  but  beware  of  them  lest  ye  also 
have  part  in  their  punishment.  But  ye  sinners,  if 
ye  will  go  on  sinning,  do  not  seduce  the  innocent, 
and  thus  heap  up  the  measure  of  vour  iniquities. 
Comp.  Gal.  v.  9. 

[Matthew  Henry:  The  nearer  we  arc  ro  the 
infection  of  sin,  the  more  need  have  we  to  a  and 
upon  our  guard.  Those  that  would  be  steady  in 
their  adherence  to  God  must  possess  t  hem -elves 
with  an  awe  and  reverence  of  God,  and  a i ways 
speak  of  Him  with  solemnity  and  seriousness  ;  for 
those  who  can  make  a  jest  of  the  true  God  will 
make  a  god  of  anything.  —  M.] 

Ver.  16.  The  Prophet  employs  this  simi  e  of  a 
lamb  in  the  desert,  because  nothing  is  more  pitiable 
than  a  little  lamb  which  has  lost  its  shepherd.  Kof 
the  same  reason  Christ  employs  this  figure  of  the 
lost  sheep,  when  He  would  show  the  piteous  con- 
dition of  the  sinner,  and  his  great  compassion  to- 
wards him. 

Schmieder  :  He  who  will  not  submit  to  the 
restraints  imposed  by  God,  shall  obtain  a  freedom 
which  will  at  last  become  most  irksome.  This  ap 
plies  both  to  nations  and  to  individuals. 

[Scott  :  While  sinners  obstinately  reject  the 
easy  yoke  of  Christ,  they  are  bringing  down  the 
heavy  load  of  his  vengeance  upon  themselves. 

Poset  :  Woe  is  it  to  that  man,  whom,  when  he 
withdraws  from  Christ's  easy  yoke,  God  permits 
to  take  the  broad  road  which  leadeth  to  destruc- 
tion.—  M.J 

Ver  19.  Starke  :  God  does  indeed  bear  with 
sinners  in  great  patience  and  long-sufferings,  and 
calls  them  to  repentance;  but  when  they  do  not 
amend,  his  punishment  is  swift.     1  Thess.  v.  3. 

[Pdsey  :  So  does  God,  by  healthful  disappoint- 
ment, make  us  ashamed  of  seeking  out  of  Him 
those  good  things  which  He  alone  hath,  and  hath 
in  store  for  them  that  love  Him.  —  M.] 


B.  An  Accusation  especially  against  the  Priests  and  the  Royal  House.     The  untheo- 

cratic  Policy  of  the  Kingdom  of  Israel  in  seeking  for  Help  to  Assyria 

and  Egypt  is  denounced. 

Chapters  V.-VTL 

I.    Mainly  against  the  Priests. 


Chapter  V.  1-15. 

Hear  this  ye  Priests, 

And  give  ear,  thou  House  of  Israel, 

And  listen,  thou  House  of  the  King, 

Because  the  judgment  is  for  you, 

And  you  have  been  a  snare  for  Mizpah, 

And  a  net  spread  upon  Tabor. 

And  the  apostates  make  slaughter1  deep  [are  deeply  sunk  in  slaughter]. 

And  I  am  a  chas  >vQing  for  them  nil. 


CHAPTERS  V    l-VI.  11. 


3  I  know  Ephraim, 

And  Israel  is  not  hidden  from  me  ; 

For  even  now  hast  thou  committed  whoredom,  Ephraim, 

Israel  is  defiled. 
A.  Their  deeds  will  not  suffer2  (them) 

To  return  to  their  God. 

Because  the  spirit  of.  whoredom  is  in  their  inward  parts  [their  inmost  heart  1 

And  they  do  not  know  Jehovah. 

5  And  the  pride  of  Israel  testifies  to  its  face, 

And  Israel  and  Ephraim  will  totter,  through  their  guilt, 
And  Judah  will  totter  with  them. 

6  With  their  sheep  and  cattle 
They  will  go  to  seek  Jehovah, 
But  will  not  find  Him  ; 

He  hath  withdrawn  Himself  from  them. 

7  They  have  been  faithless  to  Jehovah, 

For  they  begot  strange  children  ; 
Now  the  new  moon  will  consume  them 
Together  with  their  portions. 

8  Blow  the  horn  in  Gibeah, 
The  trumpet  in  Rainah ! 
Cry  out  in  Beth-Aven3 

"  Behind  thee,  0  Benjamin  !  " 

9  Ephraim  will  become  a  waste 
In  the  day  of  chastisement, 
Among  the  tribes  of  Israel 
Have  I  made  known  what  is  sure. 

10  The  princes  of  Judah  have  become 
Like  the  removers  of  land-marks : 
I  will  pour  out  upon  them 

My  wrath  like  water. 

11  Ephraim  is  oppressed, 

Shattered  by  judgment,4 
For  it  thought  good 
To  follow  idol -images.'1 

12  And  I  (am)  like  the  moth  to  Ephraim 
And  like  rottenness  to  the  house  of  Judah. 

13  And  Ephraim  saw  its  disease, 
And  Judah  its  wound, 

And  Ephraim  went  to  Assyria, 
And  sent  to  the  warlike  monarch ; 
But  he  will  not  be  able  to  heal  for  you, 
And  will  not  remove  your  wound. 

1 4  For  I  am  like  the  lion  to  Ephraim, 

And  like  the  young  lion  to  the  house  of  Judah) 

I,  I  will  rend  and  go  on  (rending) 

Will  carry  away  and  there  will  be  no  deliverer 

15  I  will  go  again  to  my  place, 

Until  they  make  expiation  (by  suffering), 

And  seek  my  face ; 

In  their  distress  they  will  seek  me. 


Chapter  VI.  1-11. 

"  Come  let  us  return5  to  Jehovah  ! 
For  He  hath  torn,  and  will  heal  us, 
He  hath  smitten  and  will  bind  us  up. 
He  will  revive  us  after  two  days, 
On  the  third  day  He  will  raise  us  up, 
That  we  may  live  before  Him. 


58  HO  SKA. 

3  Let  us  know,  follow  on  to  know,  Jehovah : 
Like  the  dawn  his  coming  is  sure, 

And  He  shall  come  like  the  rain  for  us, 

Like  the  latter  rain  (which)  waters  the  earth." 

4  What  shall  I  do  to  thee,  Ephraim  ? 
What  shall  I  do  to  thee,  Judah  ? 

For  your  love  is  like  the  morning  cloud, 
And  like  the  dew,  vanishing  soon  away. 

5  Therefore  I  have  smitten"  (them)  through  the  Prophets, 
And  slain  them  with  the  words  of  my  mouth, 

And  my  judgment  goes  forth  like  light.6 

6  For  I  delight  in  love  and  not  sacrifice, 

And  in  the  knowledge  of  God  more  than  burnt  offerings. 

7  Yet  they,  like  Adam,  have  broken  the  covenant, 
They  were  faithless  to  me  then. 

8  Gilead  is  (like)  a  city  of  evil-doers, 
Besmeared  with  blood. 

9  And  as  the  robber  lurks,7 

So  (does)  a  band  of  priests. 

Upon  the  highway  they  murder  (those  going)  to  Schechem, 

Yea  they  commit  wickedness. 

10  In  the  house  of  Israel 

I  beheld  an  abomination,  a  horror  : 
Ephraim  committed  whoredom, 
Israel  (is)  defiled. 

1 1  For  thee,  also,  Judah,  a  harvest  is  prepared,* 
When  I  turn  the  captivity  of  my  people. 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

l  Ver.  2.  —  nTDnti?  is  probably  the  Inf.  Piel  from  tSntt?.     [It  is  the  inf.  absol.  with   !~T  paragogic.     The  Kg 
t  -:  -  T 

Blar  form  would  be  H^ntE',  but  the  Kamets-Hhatuph  is  changed  to  Patach.  See  Green,  ffr.,  §  119,  3.  Ite  con. 
jtruction  with  the  finite  verb  follows  a  peculiar  idiom,  common  in  Hebrew.     The  literal  translation  is  :  they  have  made 

deep  to  slaughter.  Comp.  Is  xxxi.  6.  Ewald,  comparing  with  ix.  9,  holds  that  our  word  is  a  false  reading  for  nrirltt?, 
but  there  is  no  reason  why  the  Prophet  should  not  have  used  both  expressions.  —  M.] 

[2  Ver.  4. E.  V.  and  most  Anglo-American  expositors  adopt  another  construction  in  the  first  hemistich,  rendering  : 

they  will  not  frame  their  doings.  Horsley,  with  the  best  Continental  critics,  prefers  the  rendering  which  is  given  in  the 
margin  of  E.  V.  and  adopted  by  Schmoller.     Pusey  is  nndecided,  and  indeed  it  is  difficult  to  determine  which  is  the 

true  view  •  for  no  importance  is  to  be  attached  to  the  objection  of  Henderson,  that  •IS.PP  would  require  an  object  ex- 
pressed if  the  construction  last  referred  to  were  the  correct  one. —  M.] 

S  Ver.  8.  —  Before  "J  r-<    f",2    supply  2. 

4  Ver.  11. PV'1  is  in  the  construct,   state    before   i^S'Vtt.     It  is  not  =  broken,  harassed  in  law,  which  is  un- 

■uitable  here,  but  we  have  a  genitivus  efficients,  and  tiCETtt  =  judgment,  as  in  ver.  1 :  crushed  by  judgment.  On  the 
combination  Tfbn  b^Sii"!  fee  Ewald,  §  285,  6.  The  words  are  coordinate.  [See  Green,  §  269.  This  construction  if 
frequent  in  Hosea;  comp.  i.  6;  vi.  4.  —  M.]  Fiirst  takes  "1"  in  our  passage  =  "JTHJ,  a  pillar,  especially  a  finger- 
post. He,  however,  has  the  conjecture  that  it  =  SSU,  HMi^,  filth,  dirt,  and  this  =  D^pttJ,  Q',?:V?2,  idols, 
and  would  tl.cc  ^J.   """SI"'  from    7SS,  to  be  foolish  (of  which  the  Niphal  occurs)  =  he  was  foolish,  and  followed 

after  filth  (filthy  idol-worship).  A  further  conjecture  is  that  it  may  be  an  Ephraimitish  mode  of  writing  It"  (Job  xv 
81)  =  nothing,  vanity.     LXX. :  ottiVm  twc  ixa.Ta.Lu>v. 

[5  Chap.  vi.  ver.  1-3.  —  The  true  construction  of  the  various  sentences  in  these  verses  is  probably  as  follows  :  The  first 
line  of  ver.  1  contains  an  exhortation,  the  remainder  of  that  and  the  following  verse  consisting  of  arguments  in  sup- 
port of  it;  and  the  first  line  of  ver.  3  contains  a  parallel  exhortation,  followed  in  the  remainder  of  the  verse,  by  parallel 
arguments.  A  glance  at  the  verses  in  their  connection  will  show  the  appropriateness  of  this  general  view.  That  the 
opposite  is  true  of  the  construction  adopted  in  E.  V.  and  by  the  English  expositors  generally,  according  to  which  the 
opening  of  ver.  3  is  regarded  as  a  continuation  of  the  reasons  for  returning,  is  evident  both  from  the  unfitness  of  that 
line  as  an  argument,  and  from  the  consideration  that  all  the  pleas  adduced  in  all  three  verses  are  drawn  from  expecta- 
tions of  favor  from  God  Himself.  The  form  of  the  Heb.  pret.  (with  1  paragogic)  here  employed,  also  col  firms  thii 
view.  Bnt  there  is  no  need  of  holding,  according  to  the  view  preferred  by  Schmoller,  that  any  of  the  inlermediate 
verbs  introduce  an  exhortation.    This  both  weakens  the  force  of  the  array  of  pleas  successively  adduced  and  mars  the 

regularand  beautiful  structure  of  the  section.  n^t?;D  (ver.  1),  n3?"T3  and  nD^T^.i  (ver-  3>>  therefore,  being  par* 
logic  futures  /Green,  §§  97,  1.  264).  are  cohnr  atives.  and   the  onlv  rnhnrVntives  in  the  sppiimi  — m  i 


CHAPTERS  V.  1-VI.  :  1. 


59 


•  Ver.  6.  —  The  object  of  ^.H^-Jn  is  to  be  supplied  by  anticipation  from  O^^H.  Instead  cf  TpCiSCP^n 
IIS,  the  punctation  and  division  of  ths  words  is  probably  to  be  changed  according  to  the  ancient  versions,  and 
"liSD    ^TO^t^D-l  to  be  read.     The  Masoretic  reading  is  encumbered  with  too  many  difficulties. 

7  Ver.  9.  —  "^Fl  is  for  n3n=  ni3H  [constr.  inf.  Piel,  equivalent  to  a  participial  noun.     It  is  an  imitation  of 

the  Chaldee.     Henderson  conjectures  that  the  form  is  for  ^SHQ,  Piel.  Part.  —  n^j^U; .     The  translation  of  E.  V. :  by 

sonsent,  has  arisen  from  the  Targum  rendering,  "TH    ^05  :  one  shoulder.     This  view  is  now  almost  altogether  abau 
d«ned  —  M.J 

8  Ver.  11.  —  r\W  is  used  impersonally,  being  equivalent  to  a  passive  sense  [one  sets,  prepares  a  harvest  =  a  harvest 
is  prepared.  —  M.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

The  beginning  in  ver.  1  (corresponding  to  the 
opening  of  chap,  iv.)  shows  that  the  discourse  here 
commences  anew.  Though  connected  with  chap, 
iv.,  this  chapter  contains  an  accusation  and  threat- 
ening more  definitely  directed  against  the  priests 
along  with  the  king  and  his  counsellors  and 
princes,  yet  without  being  confined  to  this,  for  the 
discourse  again  becomes  general,  applying  to  the 
whole  people.  Along  with  idolatry  which  here 
again  becomes  prominent  as  the  sin  of  Israel 
(especially  in  chap,  v.)  and  gross  sins  among  the 
people  (deceit,  robbery,  murder,  chap,  vi.),  the  con- 
duct of  the  court  is  afterwards  specially  reproved, 
but  particularly  the  false  policy  of  seeking  help  in 
Assyria  and  Egypt  (which  itself  presupposes  the 
beginning  of  the  kingdom's  decay).  Chap.  vi.  is 
inseparably  connected  with  chap.  v.  But  chap. 
vii.  is  also  related  to  both  of  them,  for  a  new  sec- 
tion begins  only  with  chap.  viii.  (See  Introduc- 
tion.) A  single  central  and  controlling  idea,  how- 
ever, can  hardly  be  indicated  in  these  two  chap- 
ters, or  in  the  second  part  of  the  book  generally. 
The  discourse  is  too  excited,  moving  suddenly  from 
one  thought  to  another,  especially  from  accusation 
to  threatening,  and  vice  versa. 

Ver.  1.  Hear  this,  ye  priests.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  j~lST  refers  to  the  foregoing,  but  it  is  not 
improbable  that  it  does.  The  solemn  discourse 
just  ended  would  now  be  applied  to  the  hearts  of 
those  specially  addressed  here,  and  the  continua- 
tion of  the  discourse  would  then  be  attached  to  it. 
House  of  the  king  =  the  royal  family,  or  possi- 
bly those  who  surrounded  hiin  ordinarily.  The 
king  referred  to  cannot  be  with  certainty  deter- 
mined. Keil  conjectures  Zachariah  or  Menahem, 
or  both.  According  to  2  Kings  xv.  19  f.  the  re- 
sort to  Assyria  would  suit  Menahem  better  than 
Zachariah.  For  the  judgment  is  for  you.  This 
refers  specially,  according  to  the  sequel,  to  the 
Priests  and  the  Court.  ["  The  judgment"  is  that 
announced  in  the  preceding  chapter;  the  special 
application  is  made  here. — M.]  The  rulers  of 
the  people  are  compared  to  a  snare  and  net.  The 
birds  whom  they  have  taken  or  allured  to  destruc- 
tion, are  the  people.  Mizpah  cannot  be  the  Miz- 
pah    strictly  so  called  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin, 

but  must  be  =  HS^a  and  that  =  l?ba  n2SE 
in  elevated  pla:e  in  Gilead,  perhaps  identical  with 

ip^p  np"2  in   the   tribe  of  Dan.     Tabor,  on 

this  side  the  Jordan,  would  correspond  to  the  ele- 
vated point  on  the  other  side.  These  two  places 
are  probably  selected  as  prominent  points  to  rep- 
resent the  whole  country  ;  for  it  is  not  known 
that  they  were   places   of  sacrifice.     Keil  conjec- 


tures that  they  are  chosen  in  this  image  because 
they  were  places  suitable  for  bird-catching. 

"Ver.  2.  |TE2?:n,  t0  make  deep.    Literally  :  they 

have  made  slaughter  deep  =  they  have  sunk  deep 
in  it.     Slaughter  might  of  itself  be  understood  as 

murder,  but  the  thought  is  carried  further.  t2PK7 
is  usually  employed  of  the  slaughter  of  beasts  for 
sacrifice,  and  thus  is  most  suitable  here  according 
to  the  foregoing-,  where  the  evil  influence  of  the 
rulers  upon  the  nation  is  spoken  of,  and  this  con- 
sisted in  the  idolatry  which  they  saw  them  prac- 
tice.    But  this  sacrificing  is  intentionally  called 

only  slaying,  and  suggested  by  it.  C^ttf  a  cur. 
Key.  is  uncertain.  The  most  probable  explana- 
tion makes  it  =  E^D,  apostates.  This  is  then 
j  the  subject  of  the  sentence,  which  would  be  ren- 
;  dered  :  the  apostates  are  deeply  sunk  in  murder. 
!  Keil,  with  others,  takes  it  quite  differently  :  trans- 
gressions, more  literally :  deviations.     He  explains 

HEiqKJ  after  &\11W,  l  Kings  x.  16  f. :  to  stretch, 

stretch  along ;  therefore  :  deviations  ;  they  have 
made  deep  to  stretch  out  =  they  have  carried  their 
transgressions  very  far.  But  what  a  tortuous 
mode  of  expression  :  to  stretch  out  deviations ! 
[The  Anglo-American  Commentators  generally 
adopt  the  former  view,  rendering:  revolters,  or : 
apostates.  —  M.] 

Ver.  3.  The  second  half  of  this  verse  tells  what 
God  discerns  in  Ephraim  and  Israel.  nri37: 
now,  at  this  very  moment,  pointing  out,  as  an 
actual  fact,  that  which  at  present  lies  open  to  the 
eye  of  God.  [Henderson  :  "  To  express  an  asser- 
tion more  strongly,  the  Hebrews  put  it  first  in  the 
form  of  an  affirmative,  and  afterwards  in  the  form 
of  a  negative."  —  M.] 

Ver.  4.  Their  deeds  will  not  allow,  etc.  Their 
works  stand  in  the  way  of  their  returning  to  God ; 
for  they  are  not  isolated  things,  but  are  the  expres- 
sion of  their  inner  nature,  and  that  is  held  securely 
by  the  spirit  of  whoredom  (iv.  12),  as  by  a  demonia- 
cal power  which  has  stifled  the  knowledge  of  God. 
They  are  therefore  not  free  —  not  lords  over  them- 
selves, but  slaves.  [The  rendering  adopted  here 
is  that  given  in  the  margin  of  the  English  Bible, 
and  approved  by  the  majority  of  the  Expositors 
of  Continental  Europe,  ancient  and  modern,  and 
by  Horsley  among  the  English  ones.  But  there 
he  stands  alone,  all  other  Anglo  American  trans- 
lators adopting  the  rendering  :  they  will  not  frame 
their  doings  to  return  to  the  Lord.  They  have 
been  led  to  ibis  view  by  the  mistaken  notion  that 
the  other  translation  involved  a  grammatical  im- 
possibility.    See  Gram.  Note.  —  M.] 

Ver.  5.  The  pride  of  Israel  according  to  some, 
denotes  God,  as  One  in  whom   Israel  might  har< 


60 


HOSEA. 


pride.  The  sense  would  then  he  that  God,  by  his 
judgments  testifies  in  the  very  face  of  Israel.  But 
euch  an  explanation  is  forced.  The  natural  im- 
pression, on  reading  the  words,  is  rather  that  Is- 
rael and  its  conduct  is  spoken  of.  Therefore  the 
words  are  to  be  taken  as  they  stand ;  the  pride  of 
Israel  testifies  to  its  face,  namely,  when  the  pun- 
ishment of  such  pride  is  being  suffered.  It  will 
be  then  felt  what  it  is  to  reject  Jehovah  in  pre- 
sumptuous self-reliance  (Wunsche).  Judah  also 
totters  with  them.  In  iv.  15  Judah  is  warned 
not  to  be  partaker  in  Israel's  guilt ;  but  this  must 
have  been  done  because  such  participation  was  al- 
ready begun,  or  foreseen  as  about  to  be  assumed. 
On  the  other  hand  in  i.  7  Judah's  destiny  is  distin- 
guished definitely  from  that  of  Israel.  [Hender- 
son and  others  account  for  this  seeming  discrep- 
ancy by  assuming  that  this  chapter  was  written  at 
a  period  considerably  subsequent  to  that  of  the 
utterance  of  the  last.  But  the  evidence  of  the 
connection  between  them  is  too  strong  to  admit 
of  this  supposition.  The  solution  given  above  is 
therefore  probably  the  correct  one.  — M.] 

Ver.  6.  They  shall  go  with  their  flocks  and 
with  their  herds.  The  fruitlessness  of  Israel's 
sacrifices  without  a  mind  answering  to  the  offer- 
ing, s  here  shown  (comp.  vi.  6;  Is.  i.  11  ff. ;  Jer. 
vii.  21  ff. ;  Ps.  xl.  7;  1.  8  ff.). 

Ver.  7.  ""^2,  to  act  faithlessly,  especially  of  the 
infidelity  of  a  wife  to  her  husband.  The  proof 
0*2)  of  such  unfaithfulness  of  Israel  to  Jehovah, 
the  Husband,  is  then  given.  Instead  of  bearing 
children  to  God  in  covenant  with  Him,  they  had 
rather,  by  their  illicit  intercourse  with  idols,  be- 
gotten strange,  illegitimate  children,  children  not 
belonging  to  the  household,  i.  e.,  children  whom 
the  Lord  cannot  acknowledge  as  his  own.  The 
punishment  is  then  announced :  The  new  moon 
will  devour  them.  "  The  new  moon  is  the  festal 
season  on  which  sacrifices  were  offered,  and  is  here 
employed  for  the  sacrifices  themselves.  The  mean- 
ing is  :  your  festal  sacrifices  are  so  far  from  bring- 
ing deliverance  as  rather  to  induce  your  ruin  " 
(Keil).  The  sentence  must,  at  the  same  time,  be 
understood  in  a  temporal  sense  =  the  time  will 
soon  come  when  they  will  perish,  as  also  appears 
clearly  from  ver.  8.  Their  portions  are  their 
possessions,  part  of  which  they  brought  as  offer- 

Ver.  8.  The  judgment  is  seen  in  the  Spirit  as 
being  already  inflicted.  The  invasion  of  the  en- 
emy is  to  be  announced  by  the  horn  and  the 
trumpet.  Gibeah  and  Ramah  were  most  suitable 
forgiving  signals  on  account  of  their  lofty  situa- 
tion. Both  were  on  the  northern  boundary  of 
Benjamin.     Thus  Judah  is  already  menaced  (see 

ver.  5),  and  Israel  actually  occupied.  P>~?^»  to 
raise  a  shout  =  to  sound  the  alarm  in  danger. 
Beth-aven  again  =  Bethel ;  2  is  to  be  supplied. 
Behind  thee,  Benjamin.  The  danger  which  is 
Bignaled,  the  enemy,  is  coming.  He  is  already 
dose  behind  thee. 
Ver.  9.    Israel  shall  assuredly  be  destroyed,  and 

permanently  also :  n3T3S3  =  enduring,  that  is, 
lasting  misfortune  (comp.  Deut.  xxviii.  59). 
Others  make  it  =  true,  what  will  surely  be  ful- 
filled. [The  latter  view  is  preferable,  and  is  ap- 
proved by  most  expositors.  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.  Like  the  removers  of  landmarks. 
Is  this  to  be  taken  literally  1  It  is  certain  that  we 
ire  not  to  think  of  hostile  seizures  of  the  territory 


of  Israel,  but  the  tertium  comp.  is  the  curse  which, 
according  to  Dent,  xxvii.  17,  is  laid  upon  the  re- 
moval of  a  neighbor's  landmark  =  they  have  dona 
something  worthy  of  cursing.  The  curse  attend 
ing  the  removal  of  the  landmarks  must  therefore 
be  regarded  here  as  something  well  known.  The 
question  then  arises  :  what  is  it  that  they  have 
done  incurring  a  curse.  Keil  and  Hengstenberg 
think  that  a  spiritual  removal  of  boundaries  is  in- 
dicated, a  subversion  of  the  bounds  of  justice, 
namely,  by  participating  in  the  guilt  of  Ephraim 
which  they  did  by  breaking  down  the  barriers  be- 
tween Jehovah  and  the  idols.  And  it  is  true  that 
the  princes  of  Judah  are  to  be  regarded  as  in  a 
special  sense  divided  off  as  against  Israel  and  its 
idolatry,  by  virtue  of  the  true  faith  which  still  pre- 
vailed in  Judah  as  contrasted  with  Israel.  The 
sense  would  then  be :  The  princes  of  Judah,  by 
their  favoring  idolatry,  by  this  transgressing  of 
spiritual  limits,  have  become  like  those  who  re- 
move the  land-marks  of  fields,  and  thus  become 
subject  to  the  curse.  God's  anger  will  seize  upon 
them  like  a  full  stream  of  water.  Comp.  Ps.  lxix. 
25  ;  Ixxix.  6  ;  Jer.  x.  25. 

Vers.  11-15  declare  that  even  Assyria  cannot 
help,  and  that  the  vanity  of  all  help  outside  of 
God,  drives  Israel  to  Him. 

Ver.  11.  ^WV  and  Y^-"?  are  "  united  also  in 
Deut.  xxviii.  33  to  denote  the  complete  subjuga 
tion  of  Israel  under  enemies  in  the  event  of  apos- 
tasy from  God  "  (Keil).  1?  occurs  only  here  and 
in  Is.  xxviii.  10.  In  the  latter  case,  at  all  events 
it  =  m^D,  command.  So  many  here  also :  a 
human  statute  ["  in  contrast  to  the  ordinances  of 
God"]  alluding  to  the  worship  of  calves  (Keil). 
[See  Textual  note.  | 

Ver.  12.  A  moth  and  rottenness  are  symbols  of 
destroying  influences.  The  moth  is  alluded  to  in 
the  same  way  in  Is.  1.  9  ;  li.  8  ;  Ps.  xxxix.  12 ; 
both  united  in  Job  xiii.  28.  Such  influences  also 
destroy  slowly  but  surely  :  Certa  Dei  judicia  (Cal- 
vin). 

Ver.  13.  v£I  and  "TftE,  injury  and  wound, 
hardly  denote  religious  and  moral  depravation 
(Keil) ;  for  it  would  scarcely  have  been  said  that 
Ephraim  perceived  this,  but  the  judgment  of  God 
mentioned  in  ver.  12,  which  according  to  the  im- 
age there  employed  is  not  one  which  brings  sudden 
ruin,  but  a  more  secret  corruption,  of  which,  in- 
deed, moral  depravation  forms  a  part,  but  only  as 
a  judgment  of  God.  That  a  divine  judgment  is  in- 
tended, is  clear  from  what  is  said  of  the  vanity  of 
help  that  is  sought,  especially  in  the  sequel,  and 
from  the  ground  assigned  for  its  insufficiency  in 
ver.  14.  Assyria  is  here  named  for  the  first  time. 
In  the  subsequent  chapters  the  Prophet  frequently 
recurs  to  the  false  policy  of  seeking  help  from  As- 
syria. Only  Ephraim  is  named  because  Israel  is 
the  main  subject.  Judah  is  referred  to  only  inci- 
dentally. 2H^,  a  contender,  an  epithet  devised  by 
the  Prophet  to  denote  the  Assyrian  king. 

Ver.  14.  They  can  as  little  defend  themselves 
from  God's  judgments  as  they  can  from  the  attack 
of  lions.  (Comp.  xiii.  7  ;  Is.  v.  29;  Deut.  xxxii. 
39). 

Ver.  15.  The  figure  of  the  lion  is  continued. 
As  the  lion,  without  fear  of  being  attacked,  with- 
draws into  his  lair,  so  the  Lord  withdraws  into 
heaven  ;  none  can  or  dare  call  Him  to  account 
Until  they  make  expiation  =  suffer.     The  sif 


CHAPTERS  V.  l-Vl.  ll. 


61 


feriug  shall  drive  them  to  God.  T^  =  seek 
earnestly.  Comp.  ii.  9  and  Deut.  iv.  29, 30,  where 
comp.  also  the  expression   tJ7  "1^2. 

Chap.  vi.  ver.  1.  Come  let  us  return  to  Jeho- 
vah. The  words  are  plainly  connected  with  the 
last  words  of  chap.  v.  where  a  seeking  of  God  on 
the  part  of  the  people  is  mentioned  as  the  aim  and 
consequence  of  the  divine  judgment.  The  opin- 
ion is,  therefore,  the  most  natural  (so  already  the 
LXX.)  that  they  are  just  the  expression  of  that 
seeking,  that  in  them  Israel  announces  its  resolve, 
and  immediately  thereafter  the  hope  of  favor  on 
the  ground  of  the  return.  The  view  of  Keil  is 
less  suitable,  that  we  have  here  an  exhortation  ad 
tlressed  by  the  Prophet  in  the  name  of  God  to  the 
people  whom  God  has  smitten.  The  words  are 
only  and  naturally  put  in  the  mouths  of  those 
who,  punished  for  their  sins,  would  return  to  God. 
[The  Anglo-American  Commentators,  generally, 
adopt  the  view  here  advocated.  Henderson  gives 
the  additional  plea  that  the  bearing  of  ver.  5  favors 
the  hypothesis.  —  M.]  For  He  hath  torn,  etc. 
(comp.  v.  14).  Strong  faith.  The  Lord  who  had 
spoken  with  such  thruatemngs,  and  such  implac- 
able severity,  would  yet  give  salvation  (and  not 
Assyria,  ver.  13).     This  would  also  be  true  if  the 

vrords  "lDSQ-^'1,  12tCHn',T  are  taken  as  express- 
ing a  wish,  which  is  readily  suggested  by  a  fre- 
quent usage  of  1  with  the  future  :  and  may  He 
heal  us,  etc.  (so  also  in  the  following  sentences). — 
SD.  The  resolve  to  return  would  then  be  strength- 
ened by  the  calamity  which  God  sends.  If 
13E72rn  be  taken  not  as  expressing  a  wish  but 
simply  a  hope  the  determination  to  return  would 
rather  be  strengthened  by  this  hope,  as  the  heal- 
ing, etc.,  would  be  the  fruit  of  the  return.  [On 
the  grammatical  and  logical  connection  of  the  dif- 
ferent clauses  of  the  first  three  verses,  see  Gram, 
note.  —  M.]  An  allusion  to  Deut.  xxxii.  39  can 
hardly  be  mistaken,  especially  if  we  look  to  ver.  2. 
Ver.  2.  He  will  revive  us  again,  etc.  The 
definite  limits :  two  days,  and :  on  the  third  day, 
hold  out  the  prospect  of  the  speedy  and  sure  re- 
vival of  Israel.  "  Two  and  three  days  are  very 
Bhort  periods  of  time ;  and  the  linking  of  two  num- 
bers following  the  one  upon  the  other,  expresses 
the  certainty  of  what  is  to  take  place  within  the 
period  named,  just  as  in  the  so-called  number-say- 
ings in  Amos  i.  3  ;  Job  v.  19  ;  Pro  v.  vi.  16  ;  xxx. 
15,  18,  in  which  the  last  and  greatest  number  ex- 
presses the  highest  or  utmost  extent  of  the  matter 
dealt  with"  (Keil).  Both  the  Eabbinical  inter- 
pretations of  these  numbers  (e.  g.,  that  they  relate 
to  the  three  captivities,  the  Egyptian,  the  Babylo- 
nish, and  the  Roman)  and  the  Christian,  accord- 
ing to  which  Christ's  resurrection  on  the  third  day 
s  indicated,  are  naturally  inadmissible.  The  lat- 
er is  excluded  even  by  the  words  themselves.  Is- 
ael  is  the  subject  of  discourse :  "  it  is  torn,  smitten, 
slain  " ;  nothing  is  said  of  the  exile  itself,  but  in  gen- 
eral there  is  set  forth  the  termination  of  its  exist- 
ence as  a  people  through  the  divine  judgment 
(Which  to  be  sure  was  brought  to  pass  by  means 
of  the  exile).  Israel  expects,  in  the  event  of  con- 
version, to  be  delivered  from  this  situation  and  to 
t>e  restored,  and  that  speedily.  It  is  naturally  not 
the  awakening  of  the  physically  dead  that  is  an- 
nounced ;  but  it  is  a  significant  fact,  that  such  an 
twakening  is  employed  to  illustrate  the  restoration 
jf  Israel,  for  it  may  lead  us  to  infer  that  such  a 
kelief  lay  not  far  from  the  Prophet's  mind.  Comp. 


for  our  verse,  Is.  xxxvi.  19  ff.  (and  for  the  wholi 
section,  vers.  16-21 ),  and  especially  the  well-known 
vision  in  Ez.  xxxvii.  1-14.  (See  further  No.  4  in 
the  Doctrinal  section.)  [Comp.  the  remarks  of 
Delitzsch  on  Job  xix.  25  ff.  in  his  Commentary  on 
that  book,  which  contain  the  true  principle  of  in- 
terpretation in  such  cases,  and  substantially  agre« 
with  the  method  approved  by  Schmoller  here 
Henderson  and  Cowles  agree  in  excluding  any 
but  an  historic  allusion,  while  Horsley  and  Pusey 
maintain  the  allegorical  interpretation,  the  former 
seeing  a  "  no  very  obscure,  though  but  an  oblique, 
allusion  to  our  Lord's  resurrection  on  the  third 
day,"  the  latter  repudiating  any  other  application, 
and  carrying  out  the  analogy  to  the  extreme  pos- 
sibilities of  fanciful  conjecture.  The  explanation 
of  the  two  and  three  days  given  above  is  probably 
the  true  one.  With  it  Newcome  and  Henderson 
agree.  Cowles  suggests  an  allusion  to  the  dura- 
tion of  the  pestilence  in  Israel  after  David's  census 
of  the  people,  and  thinks  that  besides  there  "  may 
be  a  tacit  allusion  to  the  fact  that  three  days  is 
about  the  extent  of  human  endurance  under  ex- 
treme privations  and  hardships."  —  M.]  That  we 
may  live  before  Him  :  "  under  his  protecting  shel- 
ter and  favor,  comp.  Gen.  xvii.  18"  (Keil). 

Ver.  3.  Let  us  know,  pursue  the  knowledge 
of,  Jehovah.  Keil  rightly  makes  the  verse  par- 
allel with  ver.  1,  as  a  further  appeal.  The  expres- 
sion nD"!P0  especially  indicates  an  appeal,  or,  ac- 
cording to  our  view,  a  self-exhortation.  The  zeal 
and  earnestness  of  the  return  is  thus  presented. 
"  Know  "  must  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  iv.  1,  6. 
Jehovah  had  become  an  unknown,  a  strange  God 
to  the  (idolatrous)  people.  Such  knowledge  has 
thus  a  practical  aim,  to  acknowledge,  to  serve  Him. 
The  following  words  declare  what  is  hoped  for  as 
the  fruit  of  that  knowledge  :  His  coming  forth  ia 
sure  like  the  dawn,  etc.  Jehovah  will  appear 
bringing  salvation.  This  is  set  forth  under  the 
figures  of  the  daybreak  and  a  fertilizing  rain.  The 
appearing  of  Jehovah  is  denoted  as  a  rising  by  the 

image  of  the  dawn  (^^'  usually  employed  of  the 
sun).  The  transition  from  night  to  day  is  set 
forth.  Comp.  Is.  lviii.  8.  And  He  will  come  as 
the  rain  for  us,  etc.,  t.  e.,  reviving  and  refreshing. 
"In  Deut.  xi.  14  (comp.  xxviii.  12  and  Lev.  xxvi. 
4,  5),  the  rain,  or  the  early  and  latter  rain,  is  men- 
tioned among  the  blessings  which  the  Lord  will 
bestow  upon  his  people  if  they  shall  serve  Him 
with  the  whole  heart.  This  promise  the  Lord  will 
so  fulfill  in  the  case  of  his  newly-revived  people, 
that  He  himself  will  refresh  them  like  a  fertil- 
izing rain  "  (Keil). 

Ver.  4.  "What  shall  I  do  to  thee,  Ephraim  ? 
It  is  common  to  break  off  the  discourse  here, 
wrongly,  with  ver.  3.  It  is  supposed  that  there  is 
here  a  first  section  containing  a  promise,  to  which 
the  promise  in  chaps,  xi.  and  xiv.  correspond,  and 
that  a  new  section  begins  in  ver.  4  with  a  new  ob- 
jurgatory discourse  (Keil).  But,  in  the  first  place, 
vers.  1-3  do  not  really  contain  a  promise  of  the 
Prophet,  or  of  God  through  the  Prophet,  but  only 
a  hope  of  the  people  themselves.  And,  in  the  sec- 
ond place,  ver.  4  is  too  closely  connected  with  tao 
preceding  (not  as  a  promise  of  God  attached  to 
the  foregoing),  according  to  Luther's  translation  . 
how  will  I  do  thee  good,  etc.  ?  For  HWV  does  not 
mean :  to  do  goc  d,  and  E^T?^  *s  not=  the  mercy 
which  I  will  show  you,  and,  especially,  the  com- 
parison of  God's  favor  to  the  morning  cloud  and 


82 


IIOSEA. 


the  vanishing  dew  would  be  unsuitable.  The 
words  rather  contain  a  bitter  complaint  of  Israel's 
inconstancy,  and  that  suggested  just  by  the  pre- 
ceding words.  A  good  and  joyful  feeling  was 
there  expressed.  If  Israel  only  had  now  such  a 
feeling  as  was  expressed  in  the  words  which  the 
Prophet  puts  in  their  mouth,  all  would  be  well! 
But  Israel  is  as  inconstant  as  God  is  constant.  Its 
goodness  is  as  the  morning  cloud  and  the  swiftly 
vanishing  dew.  Both  the  dew  and  rhe  morning 
cloud  are  figures  of  evanescence.  The  dew  has  an 
allusion  to  the  rain,  with  which  Jehovah  is  com- 
pared by  way  of  contrast;  and  the  morning  cloud 
disappearing  so  soon,  points  back  to  the  dawn 
which  surely  brings  the  day.  lDn,  love,  is  nat- 
urally, on  account  of  God's  complaint  against  the 
nconstancy  of  the  people,  to  be  understood  of  love 
towards  God.  Yet  it  may  also  be  taken  generally, 
and  made  to  include  man's  love  to  his  neighbor  as 
well.  What  shall  I  do  to  thee?  =  how  shall  I  fur- 
ther punish  thee?  Then  follows  what  God  would 
yet  do. 

Ver.  5.  Therefore  —  because  the  character  of 
Israel  was  such  as  was  described  in  ver.  4.  The 
words  of  my  mouth  is  parallel  to  the  Prophets, 
because  the  latter  proclaimed  God's  purposes ;  and 
the  2^n  was  performed  by  the  prophets  just  so 
far  as  they  uttered  the  words  of  God.  2^PT,  to 
hew  out  or  off.  The  figure  is  that  of  hard  stone 
or  wood  to  which,  by  hewing,  the  right  shape  is 
given,  and  obdurate  Israel  is  conceived  of  as  hav- 
ing been  subjected  to  such  treatment  for  its  good 
through  the  objurgations  of  the  prophets.  Simi- 
larly Luther  after  Jerome  :  to  plane  off. — The  ex- 
pression of  the  second  member  is  stronger  still  : 
I  slew  them.  A  slaying  influence  is  ascribed  to 
God's  word.  He  gives  to  the  prophets  to  announce 
death  and  ruin.  In  the  words  that  follow  we  are 
probably  to  change  the  reading,  and  translate  = 
and  my  judgment  (goes  forth)  as  light.  [See 
Textual  note.  —  M.]  The  image  may  have  been 
chosen  with  reference  to  ver.  4  :  Since  your  love  is 
like  the  morning  cloud  and  the  dew,  vanishing 
quickly,  when  the  sun  rises,  I  will  make  such  a  sun 
rise  as  you  do  not  wish.  The  judgment  is  here 
compared  to  a  sunrise,  which  is  elsewhere  rather 
an  image  of  a  gracious  visitation  (comp.  ver.  3), 
perhaps  in  the  sense  that  judgment  reveals  sins, 
the  works  of  darkness,  in  their  true  light  (comp. 
Eph.  v.  13). 

Ver.  6  and  the  following  ones  confirm  more  def- 
initely what  is  said  in  ver.  5.  What  God  wishes 
is  love  and  the  knowledge  of  (rod.  The  knowledge 
of  God  ( =  piety  here)  goes  back  to  the  essential 

idea  of  ~f~n  as  embracing  in  its  general  sense, 
love  to  God  and  man,  though  the  latter  here  pre- 
ponderates. In  this  sense  Jesus  cites  it  in  Matt, 
ix.  13;  xii.  7.  On  the  meaning,  comp.  No.  5  in 
the  Doctrinal  and  Kthical  section. 

Ver.  7.  Yet  the  conduct  of  the  people  is  just 
the  opposite  of  what  God  desires.  But  they,  like 
Adam,  have  broken  the  covenant.  The  refer- 
ence is  to  Ephrairn  and  Judah,  not  to  the  priests. 

And,  therefore,  ^7^  does  not  express  a  contrast 
to  these  =ordinary  men.  It  would  rather  indicate 
%  contrast  to  Ephrairn  and  Judah  as  the  people  of 
God.  But  this  thought  is  quite  remote.  Viewing 
the  passage  without  prejudice,  the  usual  explana- 
tion is  seen  to  bo  the  most  natural :  like  Adam, 
illusion  is  thus  made  to  Gen.  iii.  Adam's  sin  was 
.he  violation  of  a  oven  uit :  for  with  the  command 


laid  upon  Adam,  God  entered  into  a  relation  wit  I 
him,  which,  in  accordance  with  the  analogies  ol 
later  agreements  made  with  mankind,  might  b« 
called  a  covenant.  Such  covenant-breaking  is  i 
"132,  a  breach  of  fidelity.  Then  they  were  ur> 
faithful  to  Me,  as  it  were,  pointing  with  the  fingei 
to  the  well-known  places  of  idolatrous  worship, 
e.  g.,  Bethel.  Israel's  position,  therefore,  is  one  of 
apostasy  from  God.  Israel  contradicts  its  destiny, 
which  was,  to  be  God's  people.  In  fact,  the  versa 
expresses  the  want  of  that  one  thing  which  God 
desires,  the  want  of  the  "  knowledge  of  God." 
Being  a  condition  of  intimacy  with  God,  it  is  lost 
in  apostasy  from  Him.  Therefore,  also,  there  is  no 

~]'QT}.  ver.  8  ff.  [Newcome,  Pusey,  and  Cowles 
prefer  the  interpretation  that  understands  Adam 
to  be  meant.  Henderson  rejects  it,  and  prefers  the 
rendering  :  they  (are)  like  men  (who)  break  a  cov- 
enant. To  this  it  might  be  objected,  first,  that 
this,  which  is  in  any  case,  a  paraphrase,  is  not  the 
natural  translation  of  the  words.  If  it  were  the 
author's  meaning,  every  reader,  contemporary  with 
him  or  otherwise,  would  have  mistaken  it,  on  the 
first  view,  at  least.  In  the  second  place,  such  a 
periphrastic  expression  would  be  a  very  feeble,  as 
well  as  unusual,  way  of  conveying  the  notion  fhat 
they  had  broken  God's  covenant,  in  marked  con- 
trast to  the  directness  of  the  charge  in  the  second 
member  of  the  verse.  He  objects  to  the  other  view 
that  nowhere  is  there  mention  made  of  God's  en- 
tering into  a  covenant  with  Adam.  But  this  objec- 
tion is  not  valid  if  it  appears  that  the  transaction 
in  which  God  and  Adam  were  the  parties  was  re- 
ally of  the  nature  of  a  covenant.  And  that  term 
"  is  a  concise  and  correct  mode  of  asserting  a  plain 
Scriptural  fact,  namely,  that  God  made  to  Adam 
a  promise  suspended  upon  a  condition,  and  at- 
tached to  disobedience  a  certain  penalty.  This  is 
what  in  Scriptural  language  is  meant  by  a  cove- 
nant." (Hodge,  Systematic  Theology,  vol.  ii.  p. 
117.)  His  other  objection  is  trivial,  that  with  the 
exception  of  three  doubtful  passages,  of  which  the 
present  is  one,  Adam  is  not  used  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment after  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  (he  prob- 
ably meant  the  fifth)  as  a  proper  name,  nor  is  any 
reference  made  to  our  first,  parents.  The  nearest 
parallel  to  our  passage  is  Job  xxxi.  33  :  if  I  have 
concealed  my  transgression  like  Adam  ;  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  which  rendering  there  can  be  no  rea- 
sonable doubt.  Comp.  Delitzsch  on  that  passage 
in  his  Commentary  on  Job.  —  M.] 

Ver.  8.  Gilead  might  be  taken  here  as  the 
name  of  a  city.  But  it  never  occurs  as  such,  only 
as  the  name  of  a  district  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan. 
It  must  therefore  be  assumed  that  the  name  of  the 
district  is  applied  here  to  the  chief  city,  Mizpah. 
Or  we  might  remain  by  the  notion  of  the  district, 
and  the  expression  would  then  be  a  comparison  = 
All  Gilead  is,  as  it  were,  a  city  of  evil-doers,  as  full 

of  them  as  a  city  is  of  men.  —  '~T2J7y.  ^i?.y  is  a 
foot-mark,  therefore :  tracked  with  blood,  full  of 
bloody  tracks.  Here  murderous  actions  are  indi- 
cated without  being  definitely  named. 

Ver.  9.  But  the  most  shameful  transactions 
occur  in  the  west  of  the  Jordan.    Even  priests  act 

like  robbers,    THS  is  a  predatory  band,  a  band  of 

freebooters  or  robbers,  therefore  -'7^?  ^^  = 
a  companion  of  such  bands,  a  robber  Like  the 
lurking  of  robbers  =as  robbers  lurk,  so  l'xrk  a 
company  of  priests,  they  murder  on  the  way 
to  Shechem.     Travellers  are  surprised  by  ttie.ro 


CHAPTERS  V.  1-VI.  11. 


63 


m  the  way  to  Shechem.  Shechem  was  a  City  of 
Refuge.  Perhaps  those  are  meant  who  sought 
refuge  there.  The  priests  are  by  many  thought  to 
be  residents  of  Shechem.  But  Shechem  was  a 
Levitical,  not  a  sacerdotal,  city.  The  expression 
would  then  refer  not  to  those  dwelling  within  the 
city,  but  to  those  without,  who  fall  upon  persons 
going  to  Shechem.  Bethel  was  rather  the  seat  of 
the  priests.  Keil  therefore  supposes  :  "  The  way 
to  Shechem  is  mentioned  as  a  place  of  murders  and 
bloody  deeds,  because  the  road  to  Bethel,  the  prin- 
cipal seat  of  worship  belonging  to  the  ten  tribes, 
from  Samaria  the  capital,  and  in  fact  from  the 
northern  part  of  the  kingdom  generally,  lay 
through  this  city.  Pilgrims  to  the  feasts  for  the 
most  part  took"  this  road;  and  the  priests,  who 
were  taken  from  the  dregs  of  the  people,  appear 
to  have  lain  in  wait  for  them,  to  rob,  or,  jn  case  of 
resistance,  to  murder."  More  strictly  speaking,  it 
must  have  been  done  on  the  return  from  Bethel  to 
Shechem.  The  allusion  is  evidently  to  a  definite 
event  unknown  to  us.     The  same  remark  applies 

to  the  following  words.  ""S  is  climactic.  <^^>\  = 
shame,  perhaps,  unchastity.  [This  word  does  not 
mean  shame  or  dishonor.  It  is  primarily  a  device 
or  plan  either  evil  or  good  (comp.  Job  xvii.  11), 
though  usually  the  former.  The  next  meaning  is 
wickedness;  then  specially  a  crime  resulting  from 
unchastity.  For  the  connection  between  the  two 
meanings  see  Lev.  xviii.  11.  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.  The  consequences  of  the  preceding. 
Probably  both  corporeal  and  spiritual  whoredom 
are  included. 

Ver.  11.  A  threatening  is  appended  against  Ju- 
dah also.  "Judah  also"  is  guilty.  The  harvest  is 
as  elsewhere  an  image  of  judgment,  a  cutting  down 
(comp.  also  Is.  xxviii.  24  ff.)  When  I  shall  turn 
the  captivity  of  my  people.  This  appears,  on 
the  contrary,  to  refer  to  a  deliverance,  and  therefore 
to  be  a  promise.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  judgment  has  for  its  aim  the  deliverance  of 

God's  people  (?*p¥)  as  a  whole.  But  such  deliv- 
erance is  effected  only  through  the  judgment  that 
falls  upon  the  several  parts,  first  upon  Israel 
and  then  upon  Judah.  The  meaning  therefore  is, 
when  Israel,  the  Ten  Tribes,  shall  have  received 
its  punishment  and  been  restored,  Judah  also  will 
be  punished.  [This  paraphrase  of  the  passage 
does  not  agree  with  historical  fact,  and  must  there- 
fore be  rejected.     The  true  view  seems  to  be  that 

of  Keil :  i"VQt£7  ^W  never  means :  to  bring  back 
the  captives,  but  in  every  passage  where  it  occurs 
simply  :  to  turn  the  captivity  and  that  in  the  fig- 
urative sense  of  restitutio  in  integrum.  '  My  peo- 
ple,' t.  €.,  the  people  of  Jehovah  is  not  Israel  of 
the  Ten  Tribes  but  the  covenant  nation  as  a  whole. 
Consequently  '  the  captivity  of  my  people  '  is  the 
misery  into  which  Israel  (of  the  twelve  tribes)  had 
been  brought  through  its  apostasy  from  God,  not 
the  Assyrian  or  Babyloniar  Exile,  but  the  misery 
brought  about  by  the  sins  of  the  people.  God 
could  avert  this  only  by  judgments,  through  which 
the  ungodly  were  destroyed  and  the  penitent  con- 
verted. Consequently  the  following  is  the  thought 
which  we  obtain  from  the  verse  :  When  God  shall 
come  to  punish  that  He  may  root  out  ungodliness, 
*nd  restore  his  people  to  their  true  destiny,  Judah 
will  also  be  visited  with  the  judgment."  —  M.] 
The  whole  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  promise,  Dr 
he  harvest  as  a  harvest  of  joy.  Nor  is  it  nec^s- 
lary  to  attract  the  second  hemistich  of  ver.  11  to 
the  first  verse  of  chap.  vii.  (e.  </.,  Meier). 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1.  Prophetic  rebuke  does  not  merely  not  spar« 
rulers  and  kings  :  it  is  specially  directed  against 
them.  This  follows  from  the  conviction  of  the 
high  vocation  the  monarchy  had  to  fulfill.  It  is 
the  bearer  of  the  magisterial  office,  and  as  such 
must  administer  and  guard  the  divine  law,  and 
must  therefore  care  both  for  the  purity  of  God's 
worship  and  the  administration  of  justice.  And 
if  it  neglects  or  directly  violates  its  obligation,  de- 
spises the  divine  law,  and  even  introduces  idolatry, 
perverts  justice,  exercises  injustice  or  leaves  it  un- 
punished, it  becomes  recreant  to  God,  from  whom 
it,  receives  its  authority,  and  incur?  his  punishment. 
This,  the  Prophet,  as  God's  messenger,  announces, 
and  his  voice  is  therefore  at  first  a  voice  of  warn- 
ing in  order  to  bring  it  back  to  the  true  path.  But 
the  Prophet  arraigns  not  merely  neglect  or  viola- 
tion of  the  obligations  entailed  by  the  office  as 
such,  but  also  the  personal  conduct  of  the  bearers 
of  the  office,  with  a  due  appreciation  of  the  influ- 
ence which  they  exercise  by  word  and  still  more 
by  deed,  in  virtue  of  their  high  position. 

2.  "  In  all  inroads  of  sin  and  corruption  we  are 
to  look  not  merely  at  the  outward  work,  but  at 
the  power  of  darkness,  the  spirit,  that  lies  behind 
as  their  most  dexterous  and  astute  controlling  in- 
fluence, which  will  maintain  must  craftily  its  right 
and  cause  ;  comp.  ver.  4  "  (Rieger). 

3.  Rieger  :  "  So  long  as  man  under  divine  chas- 
tisement, supposes  that  he  can  find  help  and  miti- 
gate his  misfortunes  by  trust  in  the  creatures,  he 
wanders  off  as  though  in  a  trackless  wilderness, 
from  the  living  fountain,  and  might  preclude  him- 
self from  the  most  essential  self-humbling,  the 
knowledge  of  his  guilt.  But  when  God  presses 
upon  him  with  his  hand  and  he  has  no  deliverer, 
then  is  quickened  in  his  heart  a  little  seed  im- 
planted there  before  by  God's  good  hand ;  and 
thus  the  love  of  God  is  like  a  man  who  has  sown 
seed  in  his  land ;  he  goes  away  to  his  place,  and 
depends  on  that  which  the  seed  will  produce  in 
time,  and  after  the  rough  winter."  Most  beauti- 
ful is  the  believing  assurance  with  which  the 
Prophet  makes  the  chastened  express  their  hope 
of  favor  if  they  should  return  to  God.  (This  same 
hope  is  expressed  in  Deut.  xxxii.  39.)  Thus  res- 
toration after  past  destruction  is  hoped  for,  and  the 
blessedness  of  this  restoration  is  further  and  hap- 
pily described  by  comparing  the  returning  favor  of 
God  to  the  rising  dawn  and  the  descending  rain  of 
harvest,  as  beneficent  and  refreshing  as  the  one,  as 
fertilizing  and  fraught  with  as  rich  blessings  as  the 
other,  it  spreads  its  influence.  Such  a  visitation 
of  mercy  was  most  fully  vouchsafed  through  the 
Messiah ;  He  was  the  Day-star  from  on  high ;  in 
Him  came  to  us  the  Son  of  God  in  the  flesh  to 
diffuse  upon  us  the  Holy  Spirit  like  fertilizinc 
rain.  He  brings,  therefore,  the  true  healing  fo 
the  bruised,  the  true  binding  up  of  the  wounds  for 
the  smitten,  the  true  reviving  for  the  slain — all 
under  the  condition  (presupposed  by  the  Prophet) 
of  a  penitent  returning  to  God.  That  the  Prophet 
himself,  in  putting  these  words  into  the  mouths  of 
the  penitent,  thought  of  the  Messiah,  can  not  be 
maintained.  We  must  apply  here  also  canon  laid 
down  at  chaps,  i.-ii.  that  the  fulfillment  took  place 
under  the  Messiah,  but  in  another  and  higher 
sense  than  the  Prophet  fancied,  that  the  words  in- 
spired by  the  Spirit  of  God  had  a  further  ranjre 
than  the  Prophet  knew.  The  "  revival  "  and  th» 
"  ujiraising"  imply  primarily  a  restoration  of  It 


64 


HOSEA. 


rael,  and  we  have  in  Ez.  xxxvii.  1-14  the  com-  ing  of  judgment  like  the  sun,"  which  may  be  un- 
pleted  picture  of  which  our  short  sentence  affords   derstood  of  the   efficiency  of  the  prophets  them 


the  outlines.  But  if  the  true  restoration  of  God's 
people  has  been  and  is  now  being  accomplished 
»nly  through  Christ,  we  can  go  a  step  further, 
und  show  that  the  revival,  proceeding  from  Him, 
which  is  essentially  a  partaking  in  a  new  spirit- 
ual life,  finds  its  completion  only  in  the  awaken- 
ing even  from  corporeal  death  to  the  enjoyment 
of  eternal  life,  of  those  who  have  been  spiritually 
quickened  by  Him.  If  we,  therefore,  from  the 
stand-point  of  the  New  Testament,  find  in  the 
words  of  our  Prophet  here  an  allusion  to  this,  we 
are  not  really  so  far  wrong  as  might  seem.  Nay, 
as  the  Prophet  certainly  speaks  of  a  reviving  in  a 
spiritual  sense,  so  he  must  take  that  image  from 
an  actual  revival  of  the  dead,  as  he  took  the  pre- 
ceding ones  in  ver.  1  from  the  binding  and  healing 
of  a  wound,  and  this  idea  cannot  be  so  remote 
from  his  language,  even  if  we  can  say  no  more 
(Isaiah  in  xxvi.  19  evidently  goes  further).  As 
regards  the  specification  of  time :  on  the  third  day, 
which  so  naturally  suggests  Christ's  resurrection, 
—  the  coincidence  is  certainly  not  accidental  so 
far  as  the  resurrection  on  the  third  day  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  rising  in  "  a  very  brief  space  of  time." 
He  was,  indeed,  to  die,  but  not  to  remain  in  the 
state  of  the  dead  any  longer  than  was  necessary, 
so  to  speak,  in  order  to  make  his  death  an  indu- 
bitable fact ;  rather,  as  the  "  First  Fruits,"  He 
should  be  soonest  brought  out  of  death  by  the 
mighty  working  of  the  Father,  and  it  would  thus 
be  shown  how  completely  God's  wrath,  borne  by 
Him,  was  quenched,  and  God's  favor  restored. 
On  the  third  day  the  sun  of  mercy  thus  rose  even 
here.  And  upon  this  revival  of  the  Messiah  on 
the  third  day,  is  conditioned  the  revival  of  sinners, 
proceeding  from  Him,  in  time  and  eternity.  We 
must,  therefore,  regard  this  passage  of  prophecy  as 
at  least  significant  from  a  New  Testament  stand- 
point, nor  do  we  err  if  we  say,  that  there  is  here 
contained  more  than  the  Prophet  could  conceive  ; 
it  is  a  divine  word  resembling  a  seed  of  corn  which 
does  not  simply  represent  what  it  actually  is  (even 
the  most  precious  stone  does  no  more  than  this), 
but  conceals  in  itself  something  else  far  higher, 
the  germ  which  it  enfolds. 

4.  Chap.  vi.  5.  There  is  expressed  here  a  clear 
consciousness  of  the  aim  and  lofty  position  of 
prophecy.  It  is  above  all  not  something  inciden- 
tal, but  is  embraced  organically  in  the  divine  econ- 
omy. Its  special  mission  is  fulfilled  when  the  peo- 
ple of  God  forget  their  calling,  and  disregarding 
the  voice  of  their  own  conscience,  no  longer  seize 
the  true  path,  and,  having  already  inwardly  apos- 
tatized, attain  only  to  weak  resolves,  which  are 
never  fulfilled  (ver.  4).  Then  God  appears  before 
his  people,  and  sends  them  the  prophets,  who  are, 
bo  to  speak,  a  conscience  standing  outside  of  them. 
Through  them  He  speaks  the  "  words  of  his 
mouth  "  and  rebukes  his  people.  He  announces 
through  them  his  judgment ;  their  words  of  re- 
buke themselves  are  a  punishment  to  the  people, 
at  all  events,  a  punishment  by  words  before  the 
punishment  by  deeds  is  sent,  but  yet  essentially 
identical  with  it,  inasmuch  as  it  was  intended  to 
produce  deep  sorrow,  to  touch  the  inner  man,  and 
to  bring  painfully  to  the  consciousness  criminal 
apostasy  from  God,  and  has  thus  the  same  aim  as 
actual  punishment  has.  Thus  the  sending  of  the 
prophets  appears  in  one  passage  as  a  punishment ; 
therefore  also  the  expression  which  speaks  of  God's 
newing  and  slaying  through  them  is  employed, 
in  1  there  is  conjoined  with  it  in  one  line  the  "  ris- 


selves.  It  is  declared  in  such  passages  as  xii.  1 1 
that  prophecy  had  in  itself  a  more  general  signifi- 
cance, as  it  effected  God's  revelation  to  the  people, 
and  brought  Him  into  close  relations  with  them, 
and  was,  in  so  far,  an  element  of  his  dispensation 
of  mercy.  And,  apart  from  this,  as  Hosea  directly 
shows,  it  had  not  only  a  legal  but  also  an  evangel- 
ical aspect  by  its  vocation  as  proclaiming  God's 
faithfulness,  in  virtue  of  which  He  had  not  re- 
jected his  people  but  had  destined  for  them  a  great 
deliverance.  Here,  however,  it  is  occupied  with 
the  race  for  which  it  was  specially  designed,  and 
for  them  it  preached  punishment  by  holding  up 
before  them  the  law  they  had  so  contemptuously 
violated  ;  it  became  a  chastening  rod  through  the 
Word,  and  it  was  to  hold  out  to  the  people  the 
prospect  of  the  future  salvation  only  through  the 
medium  of  punishment,  and  must  as  its  main  duty 
"  cut  to  pieces  "  and  "  slay."  The  preaching  of 
the  New  Covenant  has,  on  the  other  hand,  as  its 
main  duty,  an  evangelical  mission,  which  must 
never  be  ignored.  But  still  it  cannot  dispense 
with  the  preaching  of  the  Law.  It  must,  even 
there,  recur  to  that  as  its  next  duty  ;  for  the  Law 
is  the  true  tratdayooybs  els  XpurTSv. 

The  worthlessness  of  sacrifice  as  a  mere  opus 
operatum  is  most  distinctly  emphasized  by  prophecy 
in  opposition  to  the  false  esteem  in  which  it  was 
held,  which  was  a  token  of  religious  and  moral 
ruin,  going  hand  in  hand  with  an  empty  service  of 
forms  and  outward  works.  Sacrifice,  in  general, 
was,  as  it  seems,  regarded  as  a  good  because  a  re- 
ligious work,  even  when  it  was  not  performed  in 
the  strict  legal  manner,  but  was  associated  with 
calf  and  idol-worship,  and  therefore  with  a  trans- 
gression of  the  Law  (as  in  our  context  it  is  not  legal 
sacrifice  that  is  spoken  of,  the  address  being  to  the 
kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes).  In  this  they  wished 
to  honor  Jehovah,  or  pretended  to  do  so.  Comp. 
ver.  6.  In  that  passage  the  worthlessness  of  the 
outward  sacrifice,  which  was  only  in  form  a  seek- 
ing of  Jehovah,  and  could  not  be  a  seeking  from 
the  heart  (ver.  15),  is  strongly  expressed.  Comp. 
Mic.  vi.  8 ;  Is.  i.  11-17 ;  Ps.  xl.  7,  9 ;  1.  8  ff. ;  li. 
18  ff. ;  1  Sam.  xv.  22. 

To  infer,  however,  from  this  polemic  of  prophecy 
against  the  opus  operatum  of  sacrifice  (sacrifice  to 
an  idol  is  to  the  Prophet  only  slaughter),  that  it 
values  sacrifice  in  itself  but  little,  and  stands  as  to 
the  Law,  etc.,  upon  a  freer  standpoint,  is  assuredly 
wrong.  If  the  prophets  were  the  stern  guardians 
of  the  Law,  and  especially  of  the  worship  of  Jeho- 
vah, and  directed  their  rebukes  against  every  depre- 
ciation of  the  law  and  every  apostasy  from  Jeho- 
vah, and  if  they  also  placed  the  ceremonial  element 
in  worship  in  contrast  to  the  ethical  and  internal, 
they  did  so  because  the  latter  was  absent,  and  be- 
cause it  alone  gave  to  sacrifice  its  real  worth.  And 
in  our  passage  it  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that  Hosea 
turns  first  to  the  sacriiices  of  the  ten  tribes,  to  the 
places  of  unlawful  sacrifice,  and  denounces  them 
as  worthless,  not  merely  on  account  of  the  absence 
of  the  inner  qualities,  but  because  he  saw  the  peo- 
ple engaged  in  a  course  of  conduct  illegal  and 
therefore  displeasing  to  God,  rejects  their  sacrifices 
and  therefore  so  much  the  more  opposes  to  these 
the  inner  qualities,  and  amongst  these,  the  knowl- 
edge of  God,  which  would  lead  back  to  God  and 
thereby  also  to  the  legal  worship  of  Jehovah  with 
its  sacrifices.  On  the  relation  of  the  sacrificial  ser 
vice  to  the  future  time  of  salvation,  see  on  jhar 


CHAPTERS  V.  1-VI.  II. 


85 


5.  Chap.  vi.  7.  "  They  have,  like  Adam,  broken 
ihe  covenant."  The  passage  is  important  as  being 
the  only,  but  a  clear,  reference  to  the  Fall  in  the 
Old  Testament.  This  is  presented  as  a  transgres- 
sion of  the  Covenant,  and  God  is  therefore  con- 
ceived of  as  standing  to  the  first  man  in  a  covenant- 
relation.  Adam's  sin  appears,  therefore,  to  the 
Prophet,  not  as  something  trifling,  but  as  a  great 
transgression,  just  as  Paul  speaks  of  it  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  though  there  is  nothing- 
said  of  the  consequences  of  this  sin  upon  man- 
kind. And  while  this  transgression  is  thought  of 
as  a  (the  first)  violation  of  the  covenant,  there  is 
also  ascribed  to  it  a  significance  as  influencing  the 
destiny  of  the  world. 


HOMILETIUAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Ver.  1.  Wurt.  Sniui. :  Preachers  should  re- 
buke the  sins  of  rulers  as  well  as  those  of  subjects, 
bo  that  they  bear  not  the  guilt  of  the  souls  that  are 
lost,  whose  blood  God  will  require  at  their  hands. 

Ver.  2.  Great  zeal,  even  though  it  be  in  the 
cause  of  religion,  is  not  the  chief  thing.  It  is  of 
itself  mere  bigotry  and  has  no  merit,  but  is  rather 
to  be  rejected  if  it  is  against  the  truth. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Those  that  have  aposta- 
tized from  the  truths  of  God  are  often  the  most 
subtle  and  barbarous  persecutors  of  those  that  still 
adhere  to  them.  — M.J 

Ver.  4.  The  longer  thou  continuest  in  sin  the 
more  difficult  is  the  return.  He  who  commits  sin 
is  the  servant  of  sin.  At  first  he  will  not  return, 
at  last  he  cannot.  The  heart  is  hardened.  The 
spirit  of  whoredom  :  not  single  sins  that  are  com- 
mitted, but  an  evil  spirit  rising  up  and  taking  pos- 
session of  the  soul.  The  more  men  sin  against 
God,  the  more  they  lose  the  knowledge  of  Him, 
and  the  more  difficult  it  is  for  them  to  return ;  and 
so  the  chastisement  of  God  must  be  more  severe  to 
bring  them  back  to  Him. 

Ver.  5.  God  spares  not  even  his  own,  when 
they  sin. 

Starke  :  He  who  mingles  with  the  ungodly 
will  be  punished  with  them. 

[Pusey  :  In  the  presence  of  God  there  is  needed 
no  other  witness  against  the  sinner  than  his  own 
conscience.  —  M.] 

Ver.  6.  Starke  :  God  will  not  be  slighted 
with  the  outward  appearance  of  godliness.  In  dis- 
tress men  should  indeed  seek  God,  though  not  in 
hypocrisy,  but  iu  sincerity.  Our  most  acceptable 
sacrifice  to  God,  is  the  surrender  of  ourselves,  body 
and  soul,  to  Him. 

Ver.  7.  Wurt.  Sdmm.  :  Godless  parents  usu- 
ally bring  up  godless  children,  whom  God  regards 
not  as  his,  but  as  strange  children,  children  of 
whoredom.  They  shall  suffer  a  like  punishment 
with  their  parents.  But  God  will  require  their 
blood  at  the  hands  of  their  parents,  from  whom  a 
heavy  reckoning  will  be  demanded.  Therefore 
bring  up  your  children  in  the  chastening  and  admo- 
nition of  the  Lord,  and  they  will  not  be  strange 
thildren,  but  God's,  and  heirs  of  eternal  life. 

Ver.  9.  Starke  :  In  time  of  war  men  should 
aot  be  troubled  so  much  about  the  cruelty  and 
yranny  of  their  enemies,  as  they  should  lament 
ind  bewail  their  sins. 

Ver.  10.  Pfaff  Bibelwerk  :  God  has  set 
firm  bounds  even  to  the  great  ones  of  this  earth, 
and  prescribed  to  them  laws  which  they  must  ob- 
serve. But  when  they  remove  these  limits  God 
pours  out  his  wrath  upon  them  like  water. 


Hengstenbebg  :  If  those  are  cursed  who  re- 
move a  neighbor's  landmarks,  how  much  n  ora 
they  who  remove  those  of  God ! 

[Scott  :  When  princes  break  down  the  fence 
of  the  divine  law  by  their  edicts,  decisions,  or  ex- 
amples, they  open  the  flood-gates  of  God's  wrath : 
and  when  subjects  willingly  obey  ungodly  and 
persecuting  statutes,  they  may  expect  to  be  given 
up  to  grievous  exactions  and  oppressions  ;  for  God 
will  disregard  the  interests,  liberty,  and  security  of 
those  who  disregard  his  honor  and  renounce  his 
service.  —  M.] 

Ver.  12.  Ldther:  There  is  nothing  more  del- 
icate than  a  moth.  One  can  scarcely  touch  it  with- 
out killing  it,  and  yet  it  eats  through  cloth,  and  so 
destroys  our  clothing.  And  the  wood-worm  eats 
little  by  little  through  the  hardest  wood.  So  the 
wrath  of  God  is  despised  by  the  ungodly,  as  though 
it  were  without  power ;  yet  whatever  contends 
with  it  must  come  to  destruction,  and  cannot  be 
restored  to  its  former  condition  by  any  might  or 
influence.  We  are  thus  warned  not  to  live  on  in 
such  security,  but  to  fear  the  Lord  and  walk  in  all 
his  ways.  All  strength  and  force  without  this, 
will  not  defend  us  from  his  wrath. 

[Posey  :  So  God  visits  the  soul  with  different 
distresses,  bodily  or  spiritual.  He  impairs,  little 
by  little,  health  of  body  or  fineness  of  understand- 
ing ;  or  He  withdraws  grace  or  spiritual  strength, 
or  allows  lukewarmness  or  distaste  for  the  things 
of  God  to  creep  over  the  soul.  These  are  the 
gnawings  of  the  moth,  overlooked  by  the  sinner, 
if  he  persevere  in  carelessness  as  to  his  conscience, 
yet  bringing  in  the  end  entire  decay  of  health,  of 
understanding,  of  heart,  of  mind,  unless  God  in- 
terfere by  the  mightier  mercy  of  some  heavy  chas- 
tisement, to  awaken  him.  —  M.] 

Ver.  13.  Seek  not  thy  consolation  in  the  world, 
when  the  consequences  of  sin  make  themselves 
felt.  It  helps  thee  indeed,  but  only  to  drag  thea 
completely  into  its  power,  and  to  certain  ruin.  If 
men  would  have  the  wounds  of  sin  healed,  they 
must  hasten  to  the  true  Physician,  and  not  to  false 
ones,  whose  help  is  of  no  avail. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Those  who  neglect  God 
ami  seek  to  creatures  for  help  shall  certainly  be 
disappointed  ;  that  depend  upon  them  for  support, 
will  find  them  not  foundations  but  broken  reeds ; 
that  depend  upon  them  for  supply  will  find  them 
not  fountains  but  broken  cisterns  ;  that  depend 
upon  them  for  comfort  and  a  cure  will  find  them 
miserable  comforters  and  physicians  of  no  value 
—  M.] 

Ver.  14.  Starke  :  Those  who  have  an  angry 
God,  concern  themselves  to  no  purpose  about  re- 
sisting their  enemies  or  other  misfortunes. 

Ver.  15.  [Matthew  Henry:  When  men  begin 
to  complain  more  of  their  sins  than  of  their  afflic- 
tions, there  begin  to  be  some  hopes  of  them.  And 
this  is  that  which  God  requires  of  us  when  we  are 
under  his  correcting  hand,  that  we  own  ourselves  to 
be  in  fault,  and  to  be  justly  corrected.  —  M.] 

Chap.  vi.  ver.  1 .  The  language  of  the  repenting 
sinner.  How  often  does  it  come  so  late  as  this ' 
But  0  that  it  would  always  come !  How  much 
must  intervene  before  it  comes  (much  use  of  the 
Lord's  chastening  rod) !  but  how  great  also  is  the 
gain  !  Alas  that  it  is  so  hard  for  men  to  decide  so  ! 
but  what  a  blessed  decision  it  is  !  —  M.] 

Ver.  2.  God  revives  us  not  only  that  we  may 
live  before  Him,  i.  e.,  to  his  glory  and  service,  but 
also  live  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  presence  and 
blessing. 

Ver.  3.    Delay  is   more  disastrous  in   nothing 


Kb 


HOSEA. 


i  than  in  turning  to  God.  [Pusey  :  We  know  in 
arder  to  follow :  we  follow  in  order  to  know.  Light 
prepares  the  way  for  love.  Love  opens  the  mind 
for  new  love.  The  gifts  of  God  are  interwoven. 
They  multiply  and  reproduce  each  other,  until  we 
come  to  the  perfect  state  of  eternity.  — M.] 

Ver.  4.  Transient  heats  in  religion  do  not  ac- 
complish the  work  which  steadfastness  must  crown. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  God  never  destroys  sinners 
till  He  sees  there  is  no  other  way  witli  them.  —  M.] 

Ver.  5.  Cramer  :  The  Law  is  the  ministry 
which,  through  the  letter,  kills.  He,  therefore, 
who  is  not  slain  and  does  not  die  to  sin,  cannot  be 
made  alive  through  the  voice  of  the  Gospel. 

[Posey  :  God's  past  loving-kindness,  his  pains 
(so  to  speak),  his  solicitations,  the  drawings  of  his 
grace,  the  tender  mercies  of  his  austere  chastise- 
ments, will,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  stand  out  as 
clear  as  the  light,  and  leave  the  sinner  confounded, 
without  excuse.  In  this  life  also  God's  judgments 
are  as  a  light  which  goeth  forth,  enlightening  not 
the  sinner  who  perishes,  but  others,  in  the  dark- 
ness of  ignorance,  on  whom  they  burst  with  a  sud- 
den blaze  of  light.] 

Ver.  6.  Wurt.  Somm.  :  The  means  by  which 
we  become  partakers  of  the  mercy  of  God,  are  not 
our  works  and  desert,  but  the  true  knowledge  of 
God  and  faith  in  Christ  which  works  by  love,  in 


which  God  has  more  delight  and  satisfaction  than 
in  all  outward  works.  And  this  is  the  sum  of 
the  whole  Chr  "tian  religion,  that  we  believe  in 
the  name  of  tL«  Son  of  God  and  have  love  to- 
ward one  anotht,-. 

Ver.  7.  Pfaf*  Bibelwerk.  Beware  of  trans- 
gressing, by  pres.  mptuous  sin,  the  covenant  which 
thou  hast  made  w  <<.h  thy  God.  He  is  a  great  God 
and  not  a  man,  w  <.'.\  whom  thou  hast  entered  into 
obligations. 

[Pusey  :  There,  J^e  does  not  say,  where.  But 
Israel  and  every  singer  in  Israel  know  full  well, 
where.  God  points  out  to  the  conscience  of  sinners 
the  place  and  the  time,  the  very  spot,  where  they 

offended  Him The  sinner's  conscience  anil 

memory  fills  up  the  vm  d  there.  It  sees  the  whole 
landscape  of  its  sins  around.  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.  Pfaff.  Bybelwerk:  Woe  to  the 
land,  the  city,  or  the  chu.rh,  where  God  sees  noth- 
ing but  abominations  and  sins  ! 

Ver.  11.  Each  one  reapu  what  he  has  sown.  If 
thou  dost  become  partaker  in  other  men's  sins, 
thou  wilt  meet  with  their  punishment.  If  the 
captivity  of  God's  people  is  Leriuin,  so  is  also  de- 
liverance. But,  on  the  othei  lua  C  also,  the  prom- 
ise presupposes  the  threater'no- :  t  n  deliveranc* 
without  judgment  upon  sin;  swv'V  i  comes,  bmi 
only  after  a  long  and  dark  ni^ht. 


2.  Chiefly  against  tin:  Court. 
Chap.  VII.  1-16. 


1  When  I  would  heal  Israel, 

Then  the  iniquity  of  Ephraim  is  made  manifest, 

And  the  evil  deeds  of  Samaria. 

For  they  have  worked  deceit,  and  the  thief  enters  (th«  *  iwsei 

A  band  of  robbers  plunders  in  the  street. 

2  And  they  will  not  say  to  their  heart, 

(That)  I  have  remembered  all  their  wickedness  ; 
Now  their  deeds  have  beset  thtm  round; 
They  are  before  my  face. 

3  By  their  wickedness  they  have  pleased  the  king, 
And  by  their  falsehood  the  princes. 

4  All  of  them  (are)  adulterers, 

(They  are)  like  an  oven  heatedly  the  baker, 

Who  rests,  stirring  up  (the  fire), 

From  the  kneading  of  the  dough,  until  it  is  raised.1 

5  On  the  (feast-)  day  of  our  king, 

The  princes  begin  in  the  heat2  of  wine 

He  draws  out  his  hand  [goes  hand  in  hand]  with  scornerg. 

6  For  they  draw  close  together  ;  like  the  oven  is 
Their  heart  in  its  craftiness  ; 

Their  anger3  sleeps  the  whole  night, 

In  the  morning  it  burns  like  a  flame  of  Are. 

7  All  of  them  are  heated  like  the  oven, 
And  devour  their  judges, 

All  their  kings  have  fallen, 

And  there  is  none  among  them  that  cries  to  me. 

8  Ephraim  mingles  with  the  heathen, 
Ephraim  lias  become  a  cake  not  turned. 


CHAPTER  VII.  1-16.  67 

9  Strangers  devour  his  strength, 
Yet  he  does  not  know  it. 
Gray  hairs  are  also  sprinkled  over  him, 
And  he  does  not  know  it. 

10  And  the  pride  of  Israel  testifies  to  his  face ; 
Yet  they  do  not  return  to  Jehovah  their  God, 
And  do  not  seek  Him  with  [in  spite  of]  all  this. 

11  And  Ephraim  became  a  silly  dove,  without  understanding. 
To  Egypt  they  called  : 

To  Assyria  they  went. 

12  As  they  are  going 

I  will  spread  over  them  my  net ; 

As  a  bird  of  heaven  I  will  bring  them  down. 

I  will  chastise  them,4  according  to  the  announcement  to  their  congregation 

13  Woe  to  them  that  they  have  wandered  from  me  ! 
Destruction  upon  them,  that  they  have  sinned  against  me  ! 
For  I  would  have  redeemed  them5 

But  they  spoke  lies  against  me. 

14  They  did  not  cry  to  me  with  their  heart, 
For  they  shrieked  upon  their  beds  ; 

For  corn  and  new  wine  they  distress  themselves;  6 
They  apostatized  from  me. 

15  And  I  instructed  (them), 
I  strengthened  their  arm  ; 

But  they  devised  evil  against  me. 

16  They  will  not  return  upwards7  [to  God], 
They  have  become  like  a  deceitful  bow. 
Their  princes  will  fall  by  the  sword, 

On  account  of  the  rage  of  their  tongues  : 

This 7  (will  be)  their  scorn  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL 

1  Ver.  4.  —  m!?2  is  accentuated  as  Milel,  probably  because  the  Masorites  took  objection  to  the  fem.  form,  *^2n 
Which  is  elsewhere  masculine.  But  the  names  for  fire  and  anything  connected  therewith  are  in  the  Semitic  language! 
■suaUv  fem.  Hence  mj?D  is  to  be  regarded  as  actually  fem.,  and  to  be  pointed  ITVJ2  [See  Green,  Heb.  dr., 
$  196  c— "in^ipn.    YftH    takes  in  the  construct  inf.  the  fem.  ending,  like  bOP!  (Ezek.  xvi.  5).  —  M.] 

[2  Ver.  5.  —  J"ipn  is  an  example  of  a  construct  before  a  noun  having  a  preposition.  This  may  denote  the  direct 
and  powerful  influence  of  the  wine  upon  the  revellers,  or  it  may  merely  be  an  example  of  a  poetical  usage,  Green 
§  255,1.  —  D"^— V  air.  Aey.  Some  assume  a  verb  VU7,  but  Gesenius,  Fiirst  and  most  regard  the  form  as  Piel  Part 
•f  ^-1  /  with  £)   dropped.     Houbigant  would  change  the  reading  into   D^U 7,  but  needlessly.  —  M.] 

[3  Ver.  6. — Henderson  objects,  to  the  change  of  reading  to  Di"P9S,  that  this  never  occurs  in  the  sense,  ira,  furor, 
eorttm.  But  as  anger  is  a  frequent  sense  of  the  dual  form,  and  as  the  exigencies  of  the  case  seem  to  demand  Another 
reading,  it  seems  reasonable  to  adopt  the  emendation.     The  conjecture  has  also  the  support  of  antiquity,  as  tbj  Targuui 

renders   'pnTSVl   and  the    Syr.   .OOI^N^O*.     Only  it  is  not  necessary  to  retain  the  ^ — ;  the  form  given  in  to* 
Exposition  is  probably  the  correct  reading.  —  M.] 

4  Ver.  12.  —  an^p^S.     This  form  is  from  the  Hiphil  "l^p^rT  for  T»Dlft. 

5  Ver.   13.  —  C|T£S   is  a  voluntative  or  optative  :  I  would  or  would  like  to  redeem  them. 

6  Ver.  14.  —  The  LXX.  have  read  ^"T^H^r^  :   they  wound  themselves.     [But  authority  vastly  preponderates  in  fevw 
f  the  received  reading.  —  M.] 

[7  Ver.  16  —  737  N7.  It  is  agreed  that  the  Kamets  is  due  to  the  pause  and  that  the  normal  form  is  737.  Critics 
•re  divided  as  to  whether  this  should  be  regarded  as  a  noun  used  collectively  (they  return  to  no-gods  =  idols)  or  as  an 
adverb:  upwards  =  to  heaven,  where  God  is.  The  word  means  properly  an  elevation,  summit ;  hence  the  notion  that 
't  might  be  used  concretely  =  most  High.  In  xi.  7  this  certainly  seems  the  true  meaning.  *  Again  it  might  be  used  ad- 
verbially, as  in  2  Sam.  xxiii.  1.  The  best  lexicographers  (Gesenius,  Fiirst)  approve  the  former  sense  here  ;  some  of  the  best 
expositors  (Manger,  Ewald,  Keil,  and  others)  prefer  the  latter.  The  Anglo-American  expositors,  generally,  agreo  with  to* 
tot  named  class.    Newcome  prefers  to  read  Vyr  sb  :  that  which  cannot  profit  —  M.]  —  it  =  PTT,  iir.  A«y. 


68 


HOSEA. 


EXEG£TTCAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Vers.  1,  2.  When  I  would  heal  Israel,  etc. 
If  was  just  when  God  attempted  to  heal  them  that 
their  corruption  was  displayed  in  its  full  extent. 
If  it  had  not  been  so  great  the  attempt  would  not 
have  been  vain.  The  latter  consisted  in  the  chas- 
tisements themselves,  but  also  in  the  discourses  of 
the  I  rophet  calling  them  to  repentance.  Now  fol- 
lows a  description  of  their  dreadful  condition : 
lying  theft,  and  robbery.  In  the  midst  of  it  all, 
the  greatest  security,  not  a  single  thought  of  di- 
vine punishment.  Their  deeds  have  beset  them 
round.  This  expresses  evidently  the  boldness  of 
their  sinning  =  their  sins  have  so  increased  as  to 
become  mountains  hedging  them  round. 

Ver.  3.  The  situation  is  the  more  desperate  as 
the  corruption  extends  to  the  highest  ranks. 

Ver.  4.  They  are  all  adulterers.  The  whole 
people  are  such,  not  merely  the  king  and  princes, 
though  these  are  necessarily  included.  The  adul- 
tery in  this  connection  (comp.  ver.  2  :  lying,  thiev- 
ing, and  robbery,  and  ver.  5  :  debauchery)  is  to  be 
taken  in  its  literal  sense.  The  comparison  of  the 
adulterer  to  a  burning  oven  is  here  decisive ;  which 
does  not  suit  adultery  in  the  figurative  application 
=  idolatry,  but  expresses  well  the  burning  of  lust. 

n^SE  i~H373,,  literally  :  burning  from  the  baker 
=  heated  by  the  baker.  This  burning  of  the  oven 
is  further  described  still  more  closely  and  figura- 
tively, and  that  with  relation  to  the  increase  of 

the  heat,  in  the  following  words :  10  i"l22?\ 
Wiinsche :  Who  rests,  stirring  up,  from  the  knead- 
ing of  the  dough  until  it  is  leavened,  i.  e.,  when  he 
has  kneaded  the  dough,  he  rests,  namely  from 
kneading,  which  is  the  most  fatiguing  part  of  the 
whole  process  of  bread-baking,  but  then  does 
something  else,  which  compared  with  the  other  is 
resting,  namely,  heats  the  stove  and  stirs  it  up 
from  the  time  the  dough  is  kneaded  until  it  is 
raised.  During  this  time  while  the  process  of 
fermentation  is  going  on,  the  stove  is  being  heated 
so  as  to  become  quite  hot,  i.  c,  hot  enough  for 
baking.  The  Part,  therefore  is  not  used  for  the 
Inf.  depending  on  DDti?''  =  who  ceases  to  stir  up. 
It  would  be  strange  if  emphasis  were  to  be  laid 
upon  ceasing,  leaving  off,  when  the  object  is  to 
show  that  the  heat  increases.  And  Wiinsche  re- 
marks rightly  that  it  would  be  out  of  place  to 
heat  the  oven  before  the  dough  was  kneaded,  and 
then  to  cease  heating  it,  but  that  the  contrary 
process  is  the  one  followed.  [Henderson  takes 
"l^E  in  the  sense  of  heating,  as  also  does  Gesen- 
ius.  His  application  is  as  follows :  "  To  place  the 
violent  and  incontinent  character  of  their  lust  in 
the  strongest  light,  the  Prophet  compares  it  to  a 
baker's  oven  which  he  raises  to  such  a  degree  of 
heat  that  he  only  requires  to  omit  feeding  it  dur- 
ing the  short  period  of  the  fermentation  of  the 
bread.  Such  was  the  libidinous  character  of  the 
Israelites  that  their  impure  indulgences  were  sub- 
ject to  but  slight  interruptions."  But  it  is  evident 
that  the  Prophet  did  not  intend  to  call  attention 
to  any  interruption  of  indulgence  (and  if  he  had 
the  mode  of  conveying  that  notion  would  not 
have  been  very  natural),  but  to  emphasize  its  con- 
stant commission.  Horsley  takes  "T^E  in  the 
sense  of  stoker,  one  who  attends  to  the  fire,  and 
tnakes  it  the  subject  of  nDE^ :  "  the  stoker  de- 
sists after  the  kneading  of  the  dough  until  the 
fermentation  be  complete."     He  then  gives  a  most 


fanciful  application  to  the  act  of  indulgence.  Poi 
a  sufficient  explanation  of  the  images  see  the  Doc 
trinal  and  Ethical  section.  No.  1.  —  M.] 

Ver.  5.  But  they  are  not  only  adulterers ;  they 
are  also  drunkards.  They  are  heated  with  wine  a» 
well  as  with  lust.  The  rulers  here  lead  the  way  by 
their  example.  In  the  day  of  our  king  =  festal 
day,  probably  birth-day.  A  banquet  is  referred  to, 
given  by  the  king  to  his  nobles.  By  the  phrase, 
our  king,  Hosea  indicates  his  citizenship  in  the 
kingdom  of  Israel. 

^DH  :  the  LXX.,  Syr.,  Chald.,  and  Jerome 
they  began.  Others  they  are  diseased.  But  the 
Hiphil  does  not  mean:  to  be  sick —  21  TI^'^. 
The  king  is  the  subject ;  literally :  draws  out 
[stretches  out]  his  hand  with.  This  means :  he 
holds  out  his  hand  constantly  to  them=keepa 
company,  goes  hand  in  hand  with  them.  Scorn- 
ers,  men  who  throw  ridicule  upon  what  is  sacred, 
and  is  regarded  as  sacred.  Such  derision  is  spe- 
cially natural  in  a  state  of  intoxication.  Heme 
the  connection  in  which  it  stands  here  with  thta 
drinking-bout,  a  connection  which  is  certainly  not 
fortuitous. 

Ver.  6.  The  figure  of  the  heated  oven  is  again 
taken  up.  But  it  becomes  here  an  image  of  tha 
heat  of  anger  which  burns  in  their  hearts,  which, 
bein^'  craftily  concealed,  does  not  at  first  make  it- 
self manifest,  but  which  grows  only  the  more  sure- 
ly, and  at  last  breaks  out  in  deeds  of  violence. 
(Just  so  is  it  in  ver.  4  with  the  heat  of  the  bake- 
oven.)  The  notion  is  evidently  this,  that  the  cor- 
diality of  the  princes  towards  the  king  in  the  ban- 
quet is  only  apparent,  only  the  result  of  cunning. 
It  ends  with  an  insurrection,  with  the  murder  of 
the  king,  who  has  certainly  richly  deserved  such 

a  lot.  —  ^H  ^"?P-  This  is  a  difficult  expression 
Some:  they  have  made  their  heart  approach  (re- 
semble) an  oven.  But  this  is  languid.  Would 
any  one  say,  in  giving  an  illustration,  that  the 
object  was  only  "  approximately  "  like  the  image  ? 

Besides,  3  with  "HSfl  would  be  superfluous. 
Keil :  they  have  brought  their  heart  into  their  crafti- 
ness as  into  an  oven.  The  cunning  is  compared 
with  the  oven;  the  heart  with  the  fuel.  This  clearly 
gives  a  plain  sense.  It  would  be  perhaps  more 
correct  to  detach  13~lp  from  what  follows  as  form- 
ing a  clause  by  itself.  Simson  :  they  (the  con- 
spirators) approach.  Wiinsche,  perhaps  better : 
they  draw  close  together,  namely,  in  the  banquet, 
at  all  events,  as  conspirators.  The  following 
words  then  mean  simply  :  like  an  oven  is  their 
heart  in  their  malice.  Thus  the  malicious  heart  is 
like  an  oven  which  only  waits  for  the  kindling  of 

a  fire. —  31  nVvTvD  ;  according  to  the  Masor- 
etic  punctation  :  the  whole  night  sleeps  their  baker. 
Baker  would  then  =  he  who  heats  the  oven,  i.  e., 
their  heart  inflames  them.  By  the  baker  might 
be  understood  passion  (Ewald,  Keil).  This  would 
rather  be  compared  to  the  fire.  "  The  baker 
sleeps  "  would  then  be  explained  as  meaning  that 
the  baker  after  kindling  the  fire,  cared  no  more 
about  it.  But  it  would  not  be  exactly  suitable  to 
conceive  of  "  passion  "  as  sleeping,  that  is,  not 
stirring  up  the  fire.  Simson  refers  "  baker  "  to  a 
person,  the  leader  of  the  conspiracy.  But  the  fol 
lowing  member  of  the  verse  creates  most  difficulty, 
S^H  introduces  another  subject,  the  oven.  It  is 
therefore  naturally  suggested  (Wiinsche)  tochang* 

the  pointing  into  CilSS,  =their  anger.     This  it 


CHAPTER  VII.  1-16. 


69 


represented  as  fire,  and  this  sleeps  in  the  night, 
i.  e.,  it  burns  on,  unperceived,  during  the  whole 
night,  until  in  the  morning  it  becomes  a  clearly 
burning  flame.  So  with  their  anger.  "  Night " 
and  "  morning  "  allude  primarily  to  the  figure  of 
the  fire,  but  probably  also  to  the  thing  represented 
itself,  especially  if  it  be  supposed  that  at  the  end 
of  the  feast,  which  has  lasted  the  whole  night,  the 
anger  breaks  forth  in  the  morning  in  violent  acts, 
which  are  more  particularly  described  in 

Ver.  7.  All  of  them,  probably  not  merely  the 
princes,  but  the  whole  people,  together  with  the 
princes,  who  gave  the  impulse  to  the  rest.  They 
devour  their  judges,  i.  e.,  the  kings.  The  fol- 
lowing clause :  all  their  kings  fall,  does  not  add 
anything  new,  but  only  expresses  what  is  meant 
by  the  judges.  This  applies  to  the  period  succeed- 
ing that,  of  Jeroboam  II.,  when  in  swift  succession 
Zachariah  was  overthrown  by  Shallum,  Shallum 
by  Menahem,  and  Menahem's  son  Pekahiah  by 
Pekah,  and  between  Zachariah  and  Shallum  eleven 
vears'  anarchy  prevailed.  The  Prophet  alludes 
here  to  such  events,  certainly  to  a  number  of  such 
events  (perhaps  also  to  earlier  revolutions  in  the 
succession),  as  the  plural,  judges,  kings,  plainly 
shows.  Yet  the  particular  description  in  vers.  5, 
6,  suggest  the  conjecture  that  the  Prophet  had  in 
mind  a  special  case,  and  then  in  ver.  7  gives  a  gen- 
eral view.  And  there  is  none  amongst  them 
who  calls  upon  me.  The  reference  probably  is  to 
the  kings.  The  sentence  thus  indicates  briefly  but 
strikingly  the  complete  estrangement  from  God, 
the  deplorable  situation  of  these  kings.  Keil  sup- 
poses the  whole  nation  to  be  referred  to  :  no  one  is 
brought  to  reflection  in  the  midst  of  these  mourn- 
ful circumstances,  that  he  should  return  to  the  Lord. 

Ver.  8.  Bphraim  mingles  itself  up  with  the 
nations.  This  refers  certainly  not  to  the  invasion 
of  the  Israelitish  possessions  by  the  heathen,  nor 
merely  to  alliances  with  them  (ver.  11),  but  in  ad- 
dition to  something  more  profound,  it  supposes 
that  through  idolatry  heathen  practices  were  fol- 
lowed. Comp.  Ps.  cv.  35,  36,  39,  "which  passage 
furnishes  a  commentary  upon  ours"  (Wunsche). 
A  cake  not  turned,  and  therefore  burnt  on  one 
side  (while  it  is  not  baked  at  all  on  the  other). 
The  idea  is  plain.  [On  the  preceding  sentence, 
Henderson  :  "  In  Ps.  cv.  35  a  similar  expression  is 
used  of  promiscuous  intercourse  with  idolaters. 
That  such  intercourse  generally,  and  not  specifi- 
cally the  entering  into  leagues  with  them,  is  meant, 
appears  from  the  following  clause,  in  which,  to  ex- 
press the  worthlessness  of  the  Ephraimitish  char- 
acter, the  people  are  compared  to  a  cake,  which, 
from  not  having  been  turned,  is  burnt  and  good 
for  nothing.  .  .  .  Such  was  the  state  of  the  apos- 
tate Israelites  ;  they  had  corrupted  themselves  and 
were  fit  only  for  rejection."  —  M.] 

Ver  9.  Their  being  burnt  declared  figuratively 
tl.iSt  strangers  devoured  their  strength.  This 
is  not  merely  an  outward  devastation  by  war,  but 
an  inner  consumption  by  the  inroads  of  heathen 
practices.  Indications  of  old  age  also  are  appar- 
ent in  Israel  as  tokens  of  speedy  decay. 

Ver.  10.     See  chap.  v.  5. 

Ver.  11.  A  consequence  of  impenitence.  Is- 
rael is  like  a  simple  dove,  which,  not  observing  the 
snare  set  for  her,  is  caught  in  it  (ver.  12).  They 
called  out  to  Egypt ;  they  went  to  Assyria.  As 
syria  threatened  Israel.  The  latter  then  turned 
immediately  to  Egypt,  to  obtain  help  against  As- 
syria, and  partly  sought  to  gain  the  favor  of  As- 
syria (chap.  viii.  9).  And  after  all  they  fell  into 
Uie  net  of  Assyria. 


Ver.  12.  It  is  the  Lord  who  inveigles  them  into 
destruction.  According  to  the  announcement 
to  their  congregation  =  according  to  the  oft- 
repeated  threatening  against  the  people  (comp.  ia 
the  Law,  Lev.  xxvi.  14  ff.  ;  Dent,  xxviii.  15  if.). 

Ver.  13.  They  spoke  lies  concerning  me 
namely,  that  I  would  not  help  them.  And  they 
in  effect,  lie  when  they  do  not  call  out  for  help. 

Ver.  14.  And  they  did  not  cry  out  to  mo 
with  their  heart,  even  if  they  did  cry  with  the 
mouth.    Their  cry  was  one  of  unbelieving  despair. 

■TV"n3rP,  according  to  Fiirst,  to  distress  them- 
selves, parallel  to  *!  v^v))?.  Others  :  assemble  them- 
selves in  crowds,  i.  e.,  with  eager  desire  for  corn 
and  wine.    [See  Grammatical  Note.] 

Ver.  15.  They  devise  evil  against  me,  name 
ly,  in  their  apostasy. 

Ver.  1 6.  vP,  probably  adverb  =  upwards.  [See 
Grammatical  Note] 

A  deceitful  bow  :  a  bow  upon  which  the  archer 
cannot  depend,  which,  when  he  is  in  the  act  of 
shooting,  he  fears  may  cause  him  to  miss  his  aim. 
So  God  cannot  depend  upon  Israel,  is  deceived  in 
them  every  moment,  cannot  reach  the  aim  with 

them  which  He  desires.  Others  claim  for  H^P"? 
the  meaning :  slackness,  therefore,  a  slack  how, 
which  cannot  carry  the  arrow  to  the  mark.  Each 
meaning  affords  essentially  the  same  result.  The 
princes  are  emphasized,  because  they  were  the  se- 
ducers of  the  people.  This  (will  become)  a  scorning 
in  the  land  of  Egypt ;  that  is  :  the  scorn  of  Egypt 
will  fall  upon  them  for  this  reason,  namely,  on  ac- 
count of  the  falling  of  the  princes  just  mentioned. 
Not  =  because  they  placed  their  trust  in  Egypt 
and  fell  notwithstanding  (Keil),  for  this  would 
rather  earn  them  the  scorn  of  Assyria.  They 
would  be  ridiculed  by  Egypt  because  of  the  weak- 
ness revealed  in  their  fall,  while  they  had  magni- 
fied their  strength  before  Egypt. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1 .  The  Prophet  assails  the  practices  of  the  court 
without  ceremony,  and  brands  them  with  some 
powerful  strokes,  as  a  course  of  life,  in  which  the 
nobles  are  as  ready  to  carouse  together  as  to  con- 
spire against  one  another.  All  discipline,  as  well 
as  all  fidelity,  is  wanting.  "  Even  when  they  hold 
a  feast  in  honor  of  their  king,  there  is  no  end  to 
their  gorging,  lewdness,  carousing,  etc.  The  more 
vilely  they  behave,  the  better  they  suppose  they 
shall  celebrate  the  day  of  the  king.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  they  are  dissatisfied  with  their  king 
they  are  as  eager  and  anxious  to  murder  him,  as 
they  formerly  were  to  drink  his  health  until  they 
became  intoxicated."  The  spirit  which  governs 
these  circles  is  aptly  compared  to  a  fire,  for  it  is  a 
powerful  passion  by  which  they  are  driven  about, 
revealed  in  various  forms,  partly  in  the  form  of 
sensual  and  fleshly  lust,  and  partly  in  the  form  of 
craft,  rage,  and  party-intrigue.  With  the  los*  of 
morality,  frivolity  goes  hand  in  hand,  partly  as 
consequence  and  partly  as  cause.  The  courtiers 
together  with  the  king  are  "  scorners,"  or  make 

common  cause  with  them.  "  The  scorner,  V!?» 
is  the  presumptuous,  haughty,  puffed-up  (enlight 
ened)  man,  who  sets  himself  above  what  is  and  ia 
regarded  as  sacred,  and  so  practices  his  scornful 
amusement."  Comp.  also  vers.  16  :  the  insolenc« 
of  the  tongue. 


70 


HOSEA. 


2.  The  decay  of  the  kingdom  is  already  patent. 
Ver.  9  :  Gray  hairs  show  themselves.  But  where 
the  mistake  lies,  namely,  in  apostasy  from  Jehovah, 
those  of  the  upper  circles  will  not  regard  it  (for  it 
is  these  that  the  Prophet  has  specially  in  mind, 
comp.  also  ver.  16).  Therefore,  instead  of  return- 
ing to  Him  and  seeking  Him  (ver.  10),  the  opposite 
means  are  seized  upon,  which  have  a  result  just 
the  opposite  of  what  they  desire  :  help  is  sought 
in  the  world-powers  (ver.  11).  Not  merely  the 
vanity  but  the  disastrous  nature  of  such  dealing 
is  now  clearly  expressed ;  for  Israel  is  just  pre- 
paring the  way  for  its  own  ruin.  It  is  like  a 
silly  dove,  which  does  not  see  the  net,  and  so 
straightway  falls  into  it,  i.  e.,  the  world-powers  are 
preparing  its  destruction.  In  truth,  however,  it  is 
God  who  employs  them  to  punish  his  faithless 
people  (ver.  12).  And  thus  will  be  fulfilled  the 
previous  announcement  of  punishment  by  the 
prophets  (according  to  the  declaration  to  their  con- 
gregation, ver.  12).  It  is  not  yet  particularly  in- 
dicated how  the  world-powers  are  to  accomplish 
their  destruction,  nothing  being  as  yet  said  of  a 
captivity. 

3.  We  may  collect  the  other  scattered  strokes 
delineating;  Israel's  conduct  towards  God  (for  in 
such  brief  touches  are  the  moral  and  religious 
views  of  our  book  exhibited).  —  Ver.  2  describes 
the  insensibility  of  the  conscience,  which  in  the 
commission  of  evil  deeds  ignores  God's  omnis- 
cience, while  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that 
God  knows  them  —  they  are  before  his  face. 


HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  Ver.  1.  When  God  lays 
his  hand  upon  the  conscience  and  his  Spirit  chas- 
tens it,  then  is  first  truly  felt  the  greatness  of 
sin.  O,  that  we  would  subject  ourselves  to  such 
chastening  of  the  Spirit,  and  we  would  be  saved ! 

Cramer:  When  a  sinner  is  about  to  receive 
help,  it  is  with  him  as  with  many  patients.  They 
often  do  not  feel  their  disease  and  danger,  until 
the  physician  comes  and  reveals  them. 

Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  Ver.  2.  It  is  great  sim- 
plicity on  the  part  of  the  ungodly  to  suppose  that 
God  does  not  know  their  wickedness.  Mark,  soul, 
the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  like  flames  of  fire,  and 
know  even  the  most  secret  things  of  thy  heart,  and 
accompany  thee  in  all  thy  evil  ways. 

[Matt.  Henry  :  This  is  the  sinner's  atheism. 
As  <,rood  say  there  is  no  God,  as  say  He  is  either 
ignorant  or  forgetful ;  none  that  judgeth  in  the 
earth,  as  say  He  remembers  not  the  things  He  is 
to  give  judgment  upon.  — M.] 

Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  Ver.  4.  Ye  lustful  men 
who  burn  so  in  your  lascivious  desires,  know  that 


a  fire  is  prepared  for  you  in  the  other  world  whew 
you  will  burn  forever. 

Pfaff.  Bibelwerk :  Ver.  7.  What  a  deplor- 
able situation  men  are  in,  when  they  have  no  longer 
confidence  to  cry  out  to  God  for  help  in  their  dis- 
tress, because  conscience  tells  them  that  they  have 
made  Him  their  enemy.  But  it  is  a  great  conso- 
lation to  the  pious  that,  when  there  is  none  to  take 
their  part,  they  have  free  access  to  God  and  his 
help. 

Ver.  8.  Beware  of  heathenish  desires  and  prac- 
tices. As  soon  as  thou  dost  admit  them  —  and 
they  may  obtain  entrance  in  all  kinds  of  seemingly 
harmless  shapes,  even  in  a  refined  form  —  they  in- 
jure thy  religious  nature.  The  result  is  a  stupe- 
fying of  the  spiritual  sense,  the  loss  of  spiritual 
taste,  then  only  remains  an  "  unturned,  insipid, 
and  disgusting  cake." 

[Pusey  :  Ver.  9.  "  Thy  gray  hairs  are  thy 
passing-bell,"  says  the  proverb.  —  M.] 

Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  Ver.  10.  Man,  thy  sins 
condemn  thyself.  What!  wouldst  thou  exculpate 
thyself?  Turn  only  to  thy  conscience  and  ask  it ; 
it  will  soon  utter  thy  condemnation. 

[Pusey  :  Ver.  13.  To  be  separated  from  God  is 
the  source  of  all  evils.  Whoever  seeks  anything 
out  of  God  or  against  his  will,  whoever  seeks  from 
man  or  from  idols,  from  fortune  or  from  his  own 
powers,  what  God  alone  bestows  ;  whoever  acts  as 
if  God  were  not  a  good  God  ready  to  receive  the 
penitent,  or  a  just  God  who  will  avenge  the  holi- 
ness of  his  laws  and  not  clear  the  guilty,  does  in 
fact  speak  lies  against  God.  —  M.] 

Ver.  14.  Is  it  the  worst  with  thee  when  pros- 
perity is  past  1  To  be  vexed  at  the  loss  of  tem- 
poral blessings,  is  a  mourning  of  this  world,  and 
does  not  lead  to  life. 

Matt.  Henry  :  To  pray  is  to  lift  up  the  soul 
unto  God  ;  this  is  the  essence  of  prayer.  If  that 
be  not  done,  words,  though  never  so  well  worded, 
are  but  wind  ;  but  if  there  be  that,  it  is  an  accept- 
able prayer  though  the  groanings  cannot  be  ut- 
tered. —  M.] 

[Pusey  :  Ver.  15.  The  creature  can  neither 
hurt  nor  profit  the  Creator.  But  since  God  vouch- 
safed to  be  their  King,  He  designed  to  look  upon 
their  rebellions  as  so  many  efforts  to  injure  Him. 
—  M.] 

Ver.  16.  Whither  dost  thou  turn'?  Upwards 
or  downwards  ? 

[Pusey  :  Like  a  deceitful  bow.  In  like  way  doth 
every  sinner  act,  using  against  God  in  the  service 
of  Satan,  God's  gifts  of  nature  or  of  outward 
means,  talents  or  wealth,  or  strength,  or  beauty,  or 
power  of  speech,  —  God  gave  all  for  h's  own  glory ; 
and  man  turns  all  aside  to  do  hon<  r  and  servict 
te  Satan.  —  M.] 


CHAPTER  VIII.  1-14.  71 


II.   THE  JUDGMENT. 

A>  "  Sowing  the  Wind  brings  forth  the  Whirlwind  as  a  Harvest."     Gallinn  Depend* 

ence  upon  Assyria. 

Chapter  VIII.  1-14. 

1  To  thy  mouth  (set)  the  trumpet : 

"  Like  the  eaglo  (it  is  coming)  upon  the  house  of  Jehovah  " 
Because  they  broke  my  Covenant, 
And  sinned  against  my  Law. 

2  To  me  they  will  cry  : 

"  My  God,1  we  know  Thee,  (we)  Israel. 

3  Yet  Israel  has  rejected  the  good  ; 
Let  the  enemy  pursue  him  ! 2 

4  They  set  up  kings,  but  not  by  me, 
Made  princes,  but  I  knew  (them)  not. 
Their  silver  and  their  gold 

They  made  into  idols  for  themselves, 

That  it  [silver  and  gold]  might  be  destroyed. 

5  He  has  rejected  thy  calf,  Samaria, 
My  anger  is  inflamed  against  them, 

How  long  shall  ye  be  incapable  of  purity  ? 

6  For  that  also  [the  calf]  is  from  Israel, 
The  maker  has  formed  it, 

And  it  is  no  God, 

For  the  calf  of  Samaria  will  become  fragments.* 

7  For  they  sowed  wind  and  will  reap  a  whirlwind, 
It  has  no  stalk, 

(But)  a  sprout  which  will  yield  no  meal ; 
If  it  should  yield  (any), 
Strangers  would  devour  it. 

8  Israel  is  swallowed  up, 

Even  now  have  they  become  among  the  nations, 
Like  a  vessel,  in  which  no  pleasure  is  taken. 

9  For  they  have  gone  up  to  Assyria  ; 
(As)  a  wild-ass  going  alone  by  herself, 
Ephraim  gave  presents  *  (for)  love. 

10  Even  if  they  give  presents 4  among  the  nations, 

I  will  now  gather  [carry]  them  together  (thither), 

And  in  a  little  they  will  have  sorrow  for  the  tribute  of  the  king  of  the  princes.1 

11  For  Israel  has  increased  altars  for  sinning, 
They  became  to  him  altars  for  sinning. 

12  I  presented  to  him  a  myriad6  (precepts)  of  my  Law, 
(Yet)  they  are  regarded  as  something  strange. 

13  My  sacrificial  offerings  they  sacrifice  as  flesh  and  eat  (them)  : 
Jehovah  has  no  pleasure  in  them, 

He  will  now  remember  their  guilt, 
And  will  punish  their  princes  ; 
They  will  return  to  Egypt ! 

14  For  Israel  forgot  his  Creator 
And  built  (idol-)  temples, 

And  Judah  increased  the  fortified  cities  : T 
But  I  will  send  fire  into  his  cities, 
And  it  shall  devour  her  palaces.7 


72 


HOSEA. 


TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

[1  Ver.  2.  —  *n  V.lf?  :  my  God.  A  distributive  use  of  the  singular  pronoun.  Each  of  the  Israelites  is  represented 
is  uttering  the  exclamation,  and  then  all  combined  as  making  the  protestation  in  common.  Israel  is  in  apposition  t* 
ihe  subject  of  t^O^H?.  —  M.] 

[2  "Ver.  8.  —  The  rendering  of  Schmoller  follows  the  reading  *^S,^T~^,,  which  has  nearly  as  much  authority  («  forty- 
seven  of  De  Rossi's  MSS.,  and  two  more  by  correction,  eight  of  the  most  ancient  and  sixty-two  other  editions,  the  Syr., 
Vulg.,  and  Targ.*')  as  lE^T"^   in  the  Textus  Receptus,  and  is  probably  correct M.] 

[3  Ver.  6.  —  C^D2tt'T,   oir.  Key.     Its  root  does  not  exist  in  Heb.     It  is  usually  compared  with  Chald.   22E?    t« 

break  In  pieces.     Henderson  prefers  to  consider  it=  D^'Ott?    flames.     Arab.  ^j*\,  to  kindle  a  fire.  —  M.] 

4  Vers.  9,  10.  —  ^jTIH  —  ^2iH\     The  Hiphil  and  the  Kal  have  here  the  same  meaning :  to  give  presents. 

5  Ver.  10.  —  Simson  and  others  translate :  king  and  princes,  namely,  those  of  Israel,  referring  to  the  tribute  which 
they  pay.     Here  an  asyndeton  is  assumed,  or   3^tt?"l   is  read,  after  the  ancient  versions  and  several  codices. 

6  Ter.  12. —  *Q~\     According  to  the  Kethibh  =  "Q~1  with  ft  rejected  =  10000,  a  myriad.     The  Masorites,  prob- 

ably  because  they  thought  the  expression  too  strong,  would  make  the  reading   ^Sl^}  multitudes,  from  'D.I.  which  how 
ever  does  not  elsewhere  occur  in  the  plural. 

7  Ver.  14. —  VI 37  2,  (~P.n30"^S.  Both  of  these  refer  merely  to  Judah.  In  the  former  the  people  are  thought 
of  and  therefore  the  masc.  suffix  is  employed ;  in  the  latter  the  country,  and  therefore  the  fern.  [It  is  possible,  also, 
that  the  latter  refers  to  each  of  the  cities  regarded  individually.  —  M.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Ver.  1.  (Set)  the  trumpet  to  thy  mouth. 
Jehovah  commands  the  Prophet,  as  the  herald  of 
God,  to  proclaim  with  the  trumpet  of  Israel  the 
impending  judgment :  "  Like  an  eagle  (it  is  com- 
ing) upon  the  house  of  Jehovah."  The  judg- 
ment will  fall  as  swiftly  as  an  eagle  (comp.  Deut. 
xxviii.  49).  The  house  of  Jehovah  not  =  the 
Temple,  but  Israel,  as  the  people  among  whom 
God  dwells  (should  and  would  dwell),  comp.  ix. 
8-15 ;  Num.  xii.  7  ;  Jer.  xii.  7  ;  Zech.  ix.  8. 

Ver.  2.  Every  one  will  cry:  "My  God!" 
Israel  is  in  apposition  to  the  subject  contained  in 
the  verb  [we  know  thee,  we,  Israel].  They  rely 
upon  the  knowledge  of  God,  which,  as  his  people, 
they  assuredly  have.  But  it  is  a  dead  knowledge 
which  can  bring  no  deliverance. —  Vers.  3  and  4 
show  the  position  of  Israel. 

Ver.  4.  They  have  set  up  kings,  but  not  by 
me.  This  refers  to  the  self-authorized  schism  from 
the  royal  house  of  David.  All  the  kings  of  Israel 
were  not  from  God  (that  the  government  of  the 
Tea  Tribes  was  announced  beforehand  to  Jero- 
lioam  by  Ahijah  the  Prophet,  1  Kings  xi.  30  ff., 
and  that  Jehu  was  anointed  king  and  commis- 
t-ioned  by  Elisha,  do  not  contradict  this,  for  God 
makes  use  even  of  human  sins  to  execute  his  de- 
crees) ;  and  besides,  according  to  chap.  vii.  7,  the 
Prophet  probably  has  in  view  the  frequent  violent 
dethronements   and    usurpations   individually.  — 

»*"H3}  ]3?P7  ■   in  order  that  it,  namely,  the  silver 

ind  gold,  may  be  destroyed  (comp.  ver.  6).  ]3?J37 
expresses  the  certainty  of  the  result  as  if  it  had 
oeen  designed.  [Most  have  regarded  Israel  (col- 
lectively) as  the  subject  of  this  verb,  but,  as  Keil 
Bays,  the  same  thing  is  more  fully  stated  in  ver.  6, 
and  the  connection  of  the  clause  is  clear.  —  M.] 

Ver.  5.  He  has  rejected  thy  calf,  Samaria. 
Samaria  is  mentioned  as  the  capital  instead  of  the 
whole  kingdom.  The  Calf  in  Bethel  is  meant. 
[Henderson,  with  many  Continental  Translators, 
renders  :  thy  calf  is  an  abomination,  the  verb  be- 
ing taken  intrant  tively.     This  is  better  than  the 


translation  of  E.  V.,  which  is  retained  by  Pusey 
in  its  natural  sense,  and  by  Horsley  with  a  most 
astonishing  application  of  the  expression  :  "  Here 
God  himself  turns  short  upon  Samaria  or  the 
Ten  Tribes,  and  upbraids  their  corrupt  worship 
by  taking  to  Himself  the  title  of  Samaria's  calf. 
I  whom  you  have  so  dishonored  by  setting  up  that 
contemptible  idol  as  the  symbol  of  my  glory  — 
now  expressly  disown  you."  The  parallelism,  as 
well  as  the  whole  drift  of  the  passage  seems  to 
confirm  the  view  adopted  above.  —  M.]  How 
long  will  they  be  incapable  of  purity  ?  inca- 
pable of  walking  purely  before  the  Lord  instead  of 
polluting  themselves  with  idols. 

Ver.  6.  S^ril  ;s  the  predicate  ;  this  also  =  the 
Calf.  It  originated  from  men —  from  Israel  through 
the  maker  —  and  is  therefore  no  God. 

Ver.  7.  This  result  is  the  natural  harvest  of  the 
evil  sowing.     The  same  image   occurs  in  xii.  2. 

nT"l  is  an  image  of  vain  human  efforts,  from 
which  ruin  is  developed,  as  naturally  as  the  wind 
becomes   a   tempest.     Chap.    x.    13;    Job   iv.    8; 

Prov.  xxii.  8   are    analogous,  where   "J .IS,    ?0?7, 

and  nbll?  are  the  seed.  The  sowing  of  the  wind 
is  first  regarded  as  one  which  brings  a  harvest  of 
disaster  and  ruin,  but  afterwards,  as  one  which, 
like  the  wind  (image  of  nothingness,  fiom  which 
nothing  can  come),  deceives  the  sower,  brings  him 

in  no  harvest  Tift  \J~~  Hill*  :  a  word-play.  The 
latter  is  literally  meal,  flour:  perhaps  =  ears,  as 
bearing  the  grains  from  which  the  flour  is  made. 
The  following  sentence  declares  that  all  their  pros- 
pects were  blasted.  Israel's  efforts  in  every  direc- 
tion are  fruitless.  The  judgment  through  Assyria 
stands  in  the  back  ground  already. 

Ver.  8  is  connected  with  ver.  7,  but  advances 

through  the  pret.  377—3.  Israelis  now  —  already 
—  actually  swallowed  up.     The  sequel  shows  how 
far  and  by  what   means.     Like  a  vessel,    etc. 
comp.  Jer.  xxii.  28 ;  xlviii.  38. 

Ver.  9.    "i  -    "H2  W^E).     Keil  gives  the  mean 
ing  thus  :  While  a  wild  ass,  a  silly  animal,  remain* 


CHAPTER  VIII.  1-14. 


73 


alone  by  itself,  in  order  to  maintain  its  independ- 
ence, Ephraira  seeks  to  make  alliances  with  the 
nations  of  the  world,  that  are  unnatural  and  in- 
compatible with  its  position.  Yet  such  a  compar- 
ison by  antithesis  is  somewhat  forced.  It  is  much 
more  natural  to  consider  as  the  tertium  comp.  the 
burning  lust  of  the  wild  ass,  and  to  attach  the 
sentence  to  the  following,  in  which  Ephraim  is  de- 
scribed as  a  paramour.  Wiinsche  finds  the  tert. 
comp.  in  the  stubborn  and  intractable  nature  of 
the  wild  ass  :  that  Israel  made  a  like  exhibition  in 
going  to  Assyria  in  spite  of  all  prophetic  admo- 
nition. [So  Henderson  and,  to  a  certain  extent, 
Pococke,  Horsley,  Newcome,  and  Pusey.  There 
is  no  reason  why  the  two  ideas  should  not  be  unit- 
ed. —  M.]  The  meaning  of  the  following  member 
is  clearly  the  same  as  in  our  phrase :  courting  one's 
friendship  or  love,  and  with  this  object  giving  him 
presents,  nattering  him,  etc.  So  did  Ephraim 
court  the  friendship  of  Assyria ;  but  the  expres- 
sion is  peculiarly  pregnant .  They  presented  love  = 
they  gave  presents  in  order  thereby  to  obtain  love 
e=  they  gave  gitts  for  love. 

Ver.  10.  But  this  is  all  in  vain.  D!J2(7^ :  I 
will  bring  them  together,  namely,  among  the  na- 
tions, i.  e.,  will  carry  them  together  thither.  — The 
following  words  again  are  very  difficult.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Masoretic  punctation :  *lvn*1,  they  be- 
gan. Therefore  R.  Tanchum,  and,  among  the 
moderns,  Eichhorn,  Rosenmiiller,  Hitzig,  Keil : 
They  began  to  become  small  from  the  burden  of 
the  king  of  the  princes.  Others,  after  the  LXX. 
(Symm.,  Theodot.,  Syr.,  Vulg.),  deduce  the  word 
from  71P,  and  take  it  =  to  cease  from,  rest :  they 
will  rest  a  little  from  the  burden  of  the  king  and 
princes  :  to  be  understood  ironically  =  they  will  in 
captivity  be  deprived  of  their  kings,  and  will  have 
therefore  to  pay  tribute  to  them  no  longer.    Ewald 

and  Meier  read  ^  '^1,  also  from  v^n  :  to  wait, 
abstain  from  any  thing  =  that  they  may  cease  a 
little  from  paying  this  shameful  tribute,  i.  e.,  that 
they  should  wait  a  little  before  paying  it.  But  was 
it  Jehovah's  purpose  only  to  relieve  Israel  a  short 
time  from  this  tribute  1  Simson  would  therefore 
explain  :  In  a  little  sorrow  will  seize  them  from 
the  tribute  of  the  king  and  the  princes  =  in  a  little 
they  will  reap  in  sorrow  the  fruits  of  the  tribute 
which  they  intend  to  pay  as  their  security,  and 
which  makes  them  a  prey  to  Assyria.  So  also 
Wiinsche.  [It  will  be  noticed  that  E.  V.  takes  the 
same  view  of  the  verb,  but  translates  :  they  shall 
sorrow  a  little  for  the  burden.  Henderson  agrees 
exactly :  they  shall  suffer  in  a  little  (so  the  mar- 
ginal reading  in  E.  V.)  by  reason  of  the  tribute. 
So  also  Cowles.  Pusey  thinks  the  meaning  to  be, 
5hat  they  shall  sorrow  but  a  little  now  on  account 
of  their  burdens,  in  comparison  with  the  great- 
er trials   of  the  captivity.  —  M.]      The   various 

views  taken  of  E^ttf  ^(J?.  are  already  apparent, 
xt  is  usually  and  probably  correctly  understood  of 
the  Assyrian  king,  in  the  sense  :  king  of  kings. 
[The  native  Assyrian  word  for  prince,  as  lately 
made  out  from  the  inscriptions,  is  sarru,  answering 
to  the  Hebrew  sar,  and  Professor  Green  (Pres. 
Quarterly,  July,  1872,  p.  128)  is  inclined  to  suspect 
that  it  explains  this  expression  :  king  of  princes, 
"  which  would  seem  not  to  be  an  arbitrary  or  merely 
poetic  variation  of  the  lordly  title,  '  king  of  kings,' 
out  to  contain  a  designed  allusion  to  the  native 
Assyrian  word.  And  a  like  allusion  may  be  found 
in  the  words  attributed  to  Sennacherib  (Is.  x.  8)  : 


'Are  not  my  princes  altogether  kings?'"  —  M.] 
Therefore  (regarding  NwE'Q  as  =  tribute)  tribute 
to  the  king,  or  tribute  which  he  imposes.  [See 
Textual  note.] 

Ver.  11.  Increased  the  altars,  while  Israel 
should  have  only  one  altar. 

Ver.  12.  Myriads  of  my  Law,  hyperbole;  to 
express  the  almost  innumerable  individual  com- 
mands of  the  Law.    [See  Textual  note.] 

Ver.  13.  N5"7-?^'  according  to  Eiirst  from  a 
root  2-*in,  to  roast,  formed  by  reduplication :  a 
sacrifice  burnt  upon  the  altar,  a  holocaust.     It  is 

incomplete  unless  joined  with  nDT,  literally,  a  sac- 
rifice of  what  is  burnt,  a  burnt-offering.  My 
burnt-offerings,  i.  e.,  those  which  should  be  burnt 
for  Me,  they  slaughter  for  meat  and  devour.  There- 
fore a  complete  profanation  of  the  sacrifices. 
They  were  concerned  only  about  the  flesh.  [The 
usual  derivation  from  2rP,  to  give,  with  the  mean- 
ing :  offerings,  gives  substantially  the  same  sense : 
sacrificial  offerings,  and  is,  at  least,  as  probable  as 
the  other.  —  M.]  They  return  to  Egypt.  Egypt 
is  a  type  of  the  land  of  bondage  (comp.  Deut. 
xxviii.  68).  Actual  captivity  in  Egypt  is  scarcely 
meant. 

Ver.  14.  Israel  forgot  his  Creator.  Comp. 
Deut.  xxxii.  15.  Temples,  perhaps  idol-temples. 
Keil :  palaces.  The  assertion  would  then  be  sim- 
ilar to  that  concerning  Judah.  But  the  notion  is 
that  Israel  builds  idol-temples,  while  Judah  does 
not  do  that,  but  by  increasing  its  fortified  cities 
upon  which  it  relied,  it  showed  no  less  that  it  was 
forgetting  God.  Cities,  Palaces,  therefore  refer  to 
Judah  alone. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1.  In  spite  of  all  departure  from  God,  the  sinner 
will  often  not  quite  abandon  religion,  worship,  and 
prayer.  In  his  hypocrisy  he  often  misuses  the 
most  beautiful  words  (ver.  2):  "Thou  art  my 
God,"  is  otherwise  the  sum  of  all  precious  prayer. 
Hypocrites  compile  from  the  Scriptures  a  little 
book  of  compliments  when  they  find  some  formulas 
which  are  extolled  there.  They  place  themselves 
behind  these,  while  they  are  far  from  feeling  their 
power  (Rieger). 

2.  To  practice  idolatry,  in  the  grosser  or  in  the 
more  refined  sense,  is  to  sow  the  wind,  and  the 
whirlwind  follows  sooner  or  later,  as  the  harvest. 
When  men  forsake  the  living  God,  they  build 
upon  themselves,  upon  their  own  power  and  wis- 
dom, and  the  more  self-inflated  they  become,  the 
more  certain  is  their  violent  fall.  All  the  more  so 
that  the  foundations  of  a  moral  life  have  been  un- 
dermined by  forgetting  the  living  God  ;  more  place 
is  gradually  given  to  vanity,  thirst  for  pleasure, 
and  evil  desires,  even  against  their  own  inclination. 
They  are  given  up  by  the  God  to  whom  they  would 
not  give  the  glory.  There  must  come  a  dreadful 
harvest  of  whirlwinds,  though  it  may  tarry  long, 
though  the  results  of  the  sowing  may  deceive  and 
corrupt  him  long  with  their  glitter  and  eclat.  How 
often  has  this  been  proved  in  the  history  of  indi- 
viduals and  nations  !  Compare  the  fate  of  the 
Second  French  Empire. 

3.  "  God  prescribed  to  Israel  myriads  of  com- 
mands." How  strongly  this  expresses  the  care  of 
God  of  his  people,  and  the  comprehensiveness  of 
his  revelation  !  Truly  nothing  is  wanting  to  them  ; 


74 


HOSEA. 


in  no  way  can  they  complain  that  they  have  been 
meagrely  supplied.  All  the  greater  is  their  guilt, 
in  regarding  these  commands  as  something 
"  strange,"  as  though  they  did  not  concern  them 
at  all,  while  they  were  issued  solely  for  that  peo- 
ple, and  designed  for  their  good.  On  the  other 
side,  the  expression,  "  myriads  of  my  Law,"  is  cer- 
tainly most  significant  as  regards  the  Old  Testa- 
ment stand-point.  All  these  myriads  were  then 
received,  but  the  Gospel  was  not  yet  given.  The 
one  gospel,  the  one  message :  the  Word  became 
Flesh,  outweighs  them  all.  The  mercy  of  God  in 
Christ  assured  by  that  message  has  a  force  quite 
different  from  all  law.  This  mercy  of  the  Gospel 
is  also  regarded  as  something  strange,  though  men 
should  regard  it  as  most  truly  their  own,  i.  e.,  as 
answering  their  most  intimate  and  their  inmost 
needs,  which  can  be  said  of  no  law. 
4.  "  They  shall  return  to  Egypt."  See  on  ch.  ix. 


HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Vers.  2,  3.  How  ready  men  are  in  time  of  af- 
fliction to  depend  upon  their  acquaintance  with 
God  and  their  service  of  Him,  and  upon  their  re- 
ligious life,  and  to  found  on  these  a  claim  for  help, 
and  yet  at  other  times  they  inquire  after  God  so 
little !  In  affliction  we  hear  nothing  else  than : 
my  God. 

Wort.  Summ.  :  The  cause  of  war  and  all  its 
resulting  evils,  is,  that  men  reject  "  the  good." 
And  the  good  is  God  and  his  Word,  with  faith 
and  obedience. 

[Pococke  :  God  is  simply,  supremely,  wholly, 
universally  good,  and  good  to  all,  the  Author  and 
Fountain  of  all  good,  so  that  there  is  nothing  sim- 
ply good  but  God;  nothing  worthy  of  that  title 


except  in  respect  of  its  relation  to  Him  who  it 
good  and  doing  good.     Ps.  cxix.  68.  —  M.] 

Vers.  5,  6.     Idolatry  is  man's  foulest  pollution 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Deifying  any  creatur* 
makes  way  for  the  destruction  of  it.  —  M.] 

Ver.  8  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  Sin  has  this  bitter 
fruit  also,  that  those  who  serve  it  come  to  be  de- 
spised even  by  the  world. 

Vers.  9,  10.  Trust  in  men  or  in  earthly  things 
more  than  in  God  is  by  Him  counted  idolatry. 
Trust  in  men  must  be  most  sorely  repented  of: 
for  not  only  is  the  desired  help  most  frequently 
not  found,  but  those  who  trust  in  them  are  out- 
wardly or  inwardly  still  dependent  upon  them,  and 
will  be  heavily  oppressed. 

Ver.  11.  It  does  not  help  to  increase  altars.  It 
depends  on  the  one  to  whom  the  sacrifice  is  made. 

Ver.  12.  How  richly  has  God  remembered  us 
with  direction  !  What  a  rich  treasure  of  the  most 
varied  instruction  we  have  in  his  Word  !  But 
what  will  it  profit  us  if  we  regard  it  as  something 
"  strange,"  when  God  in  it  addresses  Himself  di- 
rectly to  us?  —  The  one  Gospel  is  assuredly  > 
greater  gift  of  God  than  the  myriads  of  the  Law. 

Ver.  13.  God  is  as  strict  a  creditor  toward  im- 
penitent sinners  as  He  is  a  kind  and  indulgent  one 
towards  the  penitent. 

[Matt.  Henry  :  A  petition  for  leave  to  sin 
amounts  to  an  imprecation  of  the  curse  for  sin, 
and  so  it  shall  be  answered. 

PrjSEY  :  God  seems  to  man  to  forget  his  sins, 
when  He  forbears  to  punish  them ;  to  remember 
them  when  He  punishes.  —  M.] 

Ver.  14.  Incomprehensible  that  man  should  for- 
get his  Maker !  but  it  is  only  too  frequent.  To 
have  been  created  by  God,  and  yet  to  build  tem- 
ples to  idols  ;  what  a  plain  contradiction  1 


B.     The  carrying  away  into  Assyria.     Decrease  of  the  People. 
Chapter  IX.    1-17. 


1  Rejoice  not,1  Israel, 

Unto  exultation,  like  the  heathen, 

For  thou  hast  committed  whoredom,  departing  from  thy  God, 

Thou  hast  loved  the  reward  of  whoredom, 

On  all  corn-floors. 
I  The  threshing-floor  and  the  (oil-)  press  will  not  nourish  them,' 

And  the  new  wine  will  deceive  them. 

3  They  will  not  remain  in  the  land  of  Jehovah, 
But  Ephraim  will  return  to  Egypt, 

And  in  Assyria  he  will  eat  (things)  unclean. 

4  They  will  not  pour  out  wine  for  Jehovah, 
For  their  offerings  will  not  please  Him  ; 

Like  bread  of  mourning  (their  food  will  be)  to  them, 

All  who  eat  it  will  defile  themselves  : 

For  their  bread  is  only  for  themselves, 

It  does  not  come  into  the  house  of  Jehovah. 

5  What  will  ye  do  on  the  day  of  the  assembly, 
And  on  the  day  of  the  feast  of  Jehovah  ? 


CHAPTER  IX.  1-17.  75 

6  For,  behold,  they  have  gone  away  because  of  the  desolation : 
Egypt  will  gather  them, 

Memphis  will  bury  them. 
Their  precious  3  things  of  silver, 
Thistles  will  inherit  them ; 
Thorns  (will  be)  in  their  tents. 

7  The  days  of  punishment  have  come, 
The  days  of  retribution, 

Israel  will  discover : 

The  prophet  is  foolish, 

The  man  of  the  spirit  is  crazed  — 

Because  of  the  greatness  of  thy  guilt, 

And  because  the  enmity  is  so  great.4 

8  Ephraim  is  a  searcher  (after  revelations)  with  my  God : 
(As  to)  the  Prophet,  the  snare  of  the  fowler 

Is  upon  all  his  paths  : 

There  is  enmity  in  the  house  of  his  God. 

9  They  have  wrought  deep  corruption  *  as  in  the  days  of  Gibeah, 
He  will  remember  their  guilt, 

He  will  visit  (upon  them)  their  sins. 

10  I  found  Israel  as  grapes  in  the  desert, 

Like  the  early  fruit  on  the  fig  tree  in  its  first  (bearing)  I  found  your  father*, 

Yet  they  went  after  Baal-Peor, 

And  consecrated  themselves  to  shame, 

And  became  an  abomination,  like  their  paramour. 

11  Ephraim  —  his  glory  will  fly  away  as  a  bird ; 
No  bearing,  no  pregnancy,  no  conception. 

12  Even  if  they  rear  up  their  sons, 
I  will  bereave  them  of  men, 
For,  indeed,  woe  is  to  them, 
When  I  depart  from  them  ! 

13  Ephraim,  like  as  I  saw  Tyre, 
(Is)  planted  by  the  sea, 

Yet  must  Ephraim  lead  out  his  sons  to  the  murderer. 

14  Give  to  them,  0  Lord :  —  what  wilt  Thou  give  ? 
Give  a  barren  womb  and  dry  breasts. 

15  All  their  evil  is  in  Gilgal  — 
For  there  have  I  hated  them  ; 
For  the  evil  of  their  deeds 

Will  I  drive  them  out  of  my  house, 
Will  not  love  them  any  more  ; 
All  their  princes  are  apostates. 

16  Ephraim  is  smitten, 
Their  root  is  withered, 
They  will  not  bear  fruit ; 
And  even  if  they  should  bear, 

I  will  slay  the  darlings  of  their  womb. 

17  My  God  will  abhor  them, 
Because  they  did  not  hear  Him, 

And  they  will  be  fugitives  among  the  nations. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1   ver.  1  —  The  ancient  Translators  appear  to  have  read   7>,3    T S.     [This  is  false  grammatically,  as   vN  to  alwajf 
Allowed  by  the  future.  —  M.] 

•i  Ver.  2.  —  PT3.     The  people  are  here  regarded  as  a  woman.     [Tanchum  gives  the  rule  that  "  in  continual  discourse 

rhen  a  nation  or  people  is  spoken  of  either  the  fern,  suffix  agreeiug  with   T1T2  :  congregation,  or  the  maso.  agreeing 

with   ilV  :   people,  may  be  used,  as  also  that  the  singular  may  be  used  of  them  viewed  as  a  body,  and  the  plural  when 


76 


HOSEA. 


they  are  regarded   as  consisting  of  distinct  individuals."     So  Bwald  as  to  the  gender,  making  the  suffix  relate  to  "  di$ 
Irtuiose  Gemeine." — M.] 

S  V«t.  6.  —  "TttnXS  is  in  the  construct  state  with    /, 

4  Ver.  7.  —  nS"^1.     The  sentence  continues  as  though  a  conjunction   [because]  preceded.     The  conjunction  is  im 
t  -  : 

plied  in    v2. 

[5  V»r.  9.  —  For  the  asyndeton  here,  see  note  on  chap.  v.  2.     It  is  best  to  take   -innC   intransitively,  and  not  un 

*erstand  an  object,  «.  g.   Dn\2H^,  which  some  supply.  — M.] 

8  Ver.  13. —  D^HD?!^    forms  the  apodosis   which   introduces  a  contrast  to  the  protasis.      K^iriV  =  must   lead 
ferth.     See  Ewald,  237, e-     [The  literal  rendering  is  :  But  Ephraim  (is)  to  lead  forth,  etc.  —  M._ 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

Vers.  1,  2.  7S2-7N  intensifies  the  notion  of 
rejoicing  =  unto  exultation  (comp.  Job  iii.  22). 
According  to  what  follows  it  is  rejoicing  over  a 
bountiful  harvest.  It  was  this  that  Israel  expected 
and  for  which  they  would  rejoice.     But  such  joy 

was  to  be  taken  from  them.  D^SpS.  Keil :  "Is- 
rael, after  the  heathen  fashion,  attributed  the  bless- 
ing of  harvest  to  the  gods,  and  rejoices  in  it  as  in 
a  gilt  oi  the  gods,  after  the  manner  of  the  heathen." 
That  this  is  the  meaning  is  evident  from  what  fol- 
lows, in  which  I  discover  not  so  much  the  ground 
why  Israel  should  not  rejoice,  as  an  explanation 

of  the  C*7253,  especially  in  the  second  member : 
thou  hast  loved.  The  lover's  reward  is  the  reward 
which  the  paramour  gives  to  his  mistress,  or  here 
the  idol  to  its  servant,  the  people.  The  addition  : 
upon  all  corn-floors,  shows  what  is  regarded  as 
that  reward  :  it  is  that  which  is  laid  upon  these 
floors,  the  fruits  of  harvest,  which  Israel  considers 
to  be  the  gift  of  the  idols,  as  their  reward  for  serv- 
ing them  (comp.  ii.  7-14).  Press:  probably  = 
oil-press,  as  new  wine  is  specified  afterwards ; 
comp.  also  ii.  10-24  ;  corn,  wine,  and  oil  are  there- 
fore mentioned  together. 

Ver.  3  shows  how  this  will  be  brought  about ; 
it  is  not  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  harvest,  but 
to  a  captivity :  thus  they  will  lose  their  harvest 
which  had  grown.  Return  to  Egypt,  etc.  :  Keil 
is  here  undoubtedly  correct  when  he  says  :  "  The 
expulsion  is  described  as  a  return  to  Egypt,  as  in 
ch.  viii.  13  ;  but  Assyria  is  mentioned  immediately 
afterwards  as  the  real  land  of  banishment.  That 
this  threat  is  not  to  be  understood  as  implying 
that  they  will  be  carried  away  to  Egypt  as  well  as 
to  Assyria,  but  that  Egypt  is  referred  to  here  and 
in  ver.  6,  just  as  in  viii.  13  simply  as  a  type  of  the 
land  of  captivity,  so  that  Assyria  is  represented 
as  a  new  Egypt,  may  be  clearly  seen  from  the  very 
words  of  our  verse,  in  which  the  eating  of  unclean 
bread  in  Assyria  is  mentioned  as  the  immediate 
consequence  of  a  return  to  Egypt,  whereas  neither 
here  nor  in  ver.  6  is  there  any  allusion  to  a  carry- 
ing away  to  Assyria  at  all ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
in  ver.  6,  Egypt  only  is  introduced  as  the  place 
where  they  are  to  find  their  grave.  This  becomes 
still  more  evident  from  the  fact  that  Hosea  speaks 
throughout  of  Assyria  as  the  rod  of  God's  wrath 
for  his  apostate  people  (comp.  v.  13;  x.  6,  14). 
Finally,  it  is  clearly  stated  in  xi.  5  that  Israel  will 
not  return  to  Egypt,  but  that  Assyria  will  be  their 
king.  By  the  allusions  to  Egypt,  therefore,  the 
carrying  away  into  Assyria  is  simply  represented 
as  a  state  of  bondage  and  oppression  similar  to 
Israel's  residence  in  Egypt,  or  merely  the  threat- 
ening of  Deut.  xxviii.  68,  transferred  to  Ephraim." 
They  will  eat  (what  is)  defiled  :  partly  because 
the  legal  prohibitions  with  relation  to  particular 


kinds  of  food  could  be  observed  only  with  diffi- 
culty in  a  foreign  country,  and  especially  because 
with  the  cessation  of  the  sacrificial  rites  in  general, 
the  offering  of  the  first-fruits  must  cease  also,  and 
all  food  not  sanctified  by  the  offering  of  the  first 
fruits  was  unclean  to  Israel.  This  is  completed 
in  ver.  4. 

Ver.  4.  ib  tCny*  Sb") :  wiH  not  be  well  pleas 
ing  to  Him ;  therefore  their  sacrifices  must  be 
taken  as  the  subject  in  spite  of  the  accents.  The 
meaning  is :  the  sacrifices  would  not  please  Him, 
and  therefore  none  are  brought.  Israel  could  not 
sacrifice  to  God  in  exile  when  He  had  withdrawn 
from  them  his  gracious  presence.  Like  bread  oi 
mourning  to  them  (will  be  their  food).  Bread 
that  was  partaken  of  where  a  dead  body  lay  was 
considered  unclean,  because  the  dead  defiled  for 
seven  days  the  house,  and  all  that  came  in  contact 
with  them  ;  therefore  :  all  who  eat  it  will  defile 

themselves.     Their  bread  will  be  Dtt?S27=for 
the  support  of  life,  and  therefore  it  must  be  eaten 
by  them,  but  it  does  not  come  into  the  house  of 
God  to  be  consecrated. 
Ver.  5.  Festal  days  are  no  longer  possible.     To 

attempt  to  distinguish  between  "^^  and  2H 
(the  former  —  the  three  annual  pilgrim  feasts,  the 
latter  =  the  other  feasts,  or,  specially,  the  great 
harvest-feast,  that  of  Tabernacles),  is  arbitrary. 
The  expressions  are  probably  synonymous.  The 
notion  is  only  emphasized  by  the  second  expres- 
sion. "T371J2  regards  the  feasts  outwardly,  as 
gatherings  ;  2n  rather  denoting  the  rejoicing,  or 
festal  character  of  those  occasions. 

Ver.  6.    They  have  gone  away  :  the  prophet 
sees  them  in  the  Spirit  as  already  in  banishment. 

*TB?p,  literally  :  out  of  desolation.  On  Egypt  see 
at  ver.  3.  [Keil :  "  Egypt  is  mentioned  as  the 
place  of  banishment,  in  the  same  sense  as  in  ver.  3. 
There  they  will  all  find  their  graves.  P\12  or  F)3, 
as  in  Is.  xix.  13;  Jer.  ii.  16;  xliv.  1  ;  Ezek.  xxx. 
13-16,  probably  contracted  from  ^3P,  answers 
rather  to  the  Coptic  Membe,  Memphe,  than  to  the 
old  Egyptian,  Men-nefr,  i.  e.,  mansio  bona,  the  pro- 
fane name  of  the  city  of  Memphis,  the  ancient 
capital  of  Lower  Egypt,  the  ruins  of  which  are  to 
be  seen  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Nile,  to  the  south 
of  Old  Cairo."  Memphis  was  a  celebrated  bury- 
ing-place  of  the  Egyptians.  The  Anglo-American 
Commentators  generally  assume  a  literal  allusion 

to  Egypt.  —  M.]  OSDpb  "IPC1'?  =  the  costli- 
ness of  their  silver  [see  Gram,  note],  probably  = 
their  houses  filled  and  decked  with  silver,  comp. 

the  parallel  ErpbnS.  The  growth  of  thorns 
and  thistles  is  an  image  of  utter  desolation  (comp. 
Is.  xxxiv.  13). 


CHAPTER  IX.  1-17. 


77 


Vers.  7,  8.  The  Prophet  is  foolish.  This  is  in 
»ense  dependent  upon  WT\  False  prophets  are 
meant,  who  nattered  the  people,  promising  them 
only  good.  These  will  be  shown  to  be  fools.  Even 
the  false  prophet  is  a  man  of  the  spirit,  but  it  is 

an  evil  spirit  that  possesses  him  OP)??  nT"\  1 
Kings  xxii.  22).  On  account  of  the  greatness 
of  thy  guilt,  this  will  happen,  namely,  that  men- 
tioned at  the  beginning  of  the  verse.  ""flDlatpD, 
ambush,  enmity,  namely,  against  God  and  his 
prophets,  as  is  explained  in  ver.  8.  Keil :  a  searcher 

is  Ephraim  with  my  God.  H32  is  used  of  the 
"  looking  out "  of  the  prophet  while  waiting  for  a 
divine  revelation.  The  meaning  is  :  Israel  searches 
out  divine  revelations  along  with  "  my  God,"  i.  e., 
the  God  of  the  prophet.  He  trusts  in  his  own 
prophets,  not  in  those  inspired  by  Jehovah.  Oth- 
ers find  in  HS!J  the  notion  of  lying  in  wait.  God 
■would  then  be  the  object  of  the  lying  in  wait  of 
an  enemy.     He  would  be  so  in  the  person  of  the 

Erophets,  for  whom,  according  to  the  following 
emistich,  snares  were  set  (Ewald,  Umbreit,  Mei- 
er). But  the  prep.  C37  would  not  suit.  The  no- 
tion :  lying  in  wait  for  God,  is  also  strange.  In 
the  second  hemistich  ^23  could  be  the  false 
prophet.  The  snare  of  the  fowler  is  upon  all 
his  paths  would  =  he  brings  the  people  to  ruin  by 
all  his  actions.  A  snare  is  in  the  house  of  his 
God,  would  then  be  =  in  the  house  of  the  god  of 
the  false  prophet.  But  it  is  better  to  understand 
the  verse  of  the  enmity  which  the  true  prophet 
must  everywhere  meet  =  As  to  the  prophet,  the 
snare,  etc.  "In  the  house  of  his  God  =  in  the 
temple. 

Ver.  9.  VTQ10  ^B^.n,  literally,  they  have 
made  deep,  they  have  wrought  corruption  =  they 
have  wrought  deep  corruption  as  in  the  days  of' 
Gibeah,  when  the  shameful  deed  was  done  (re- 
corded in  Judges  xix.  fF.)  to  the  Levite's  concu- 
bine, which  resulted  in  the  almost  complete  exter- 
mination of  the  Tribe  of  Benjamin.  Such  conduct 
must  be  visited  with  punishment.     Comp.  viii.  13. 

Ver.  10.  Israel  sinned  grievously  not  only  in 
Gibeah  but  earlier  also,  when  God  yet  took  such 
delight  in  him.  His  disposition  now  is  shown  to 
be  that  which  he  ever  had.  So  much  the  more 
deserved  is  the  punishment.  Like  grapes,  etc. 
=  As  men  prize  grapes,  etc.,  so  did  I  prize  thee. 
In  the  desert  applies  both  to  the  grapes  and  to 
the  finding,  since  grapes  can  be  found  in  the 
desert,  only  when  one  is  in  the  desert.  An  allu- 
sion to  Deut.  xxxii.  10.  In  its  beginning,  that 
is,  when  it  begins  to  bear.  Baal-Peor  is  here  local, 

according  to  Keil,  since  ^  is  wanting;  there- 
fore: to  the  place  of  Baal-Peor;  elsewhere:  to 
the  house  of  Baal-Peor.  !P\3*1,  the  same  word, 
used  designedly,  as  that  employed  to  express  con- 
secration to  Jehovah.  They  became  Nazarites  to 
Baal-Peor,  to  shame.  The  worship  of  Baal-Peor 
is  alluded  to.  [See  Num.  xxv.  1-5.]  The  worship 
of  Baal  was  then  Israel's  crowning  offense,  and 
the  old  Baal-Peor  worship  is  now  renewed. 

Vers.  11,  12.  They  shall  increase  no  longer. 
The  unchaste  worship  of  Baal  may  be  referred  to, 
whose  natural  punishment  is  the  decrease  of  the 
population. 

Ver-  13.    Difficult.     Keil :  Ephraim  is  the  ob- 


ject of  ^T^"?>  aQd  precedes  on  account  of  tha 
emphasis  laid  upon  it=Ihave  selected  Ephraim 
for  a  Tyre  =  1  would  make  it  as  glorious  as  Tyre. 

[Comp.  Gen.  xxii.  8  for  a  similar  use  of  *^^» 
—  M.]  To  describe  its  glory  more  particularly, 
we  have  the  addition  :  planted  in  a  meadow,  a 
place  favorable  to  growth.  Wiinsche :  Ephraim  is 
the  subject  to  be  connected  with  "  planted  "  = 
Ephraim  is  planted  in  a  meadow.  The  interven- 
ing clause  he  translates :  like  as  I  look  upon  Tyre  ; 
and  the  meaning  is  :  Ephraim  blooms  like  tha 
lordly  Tyre,  wherever  men  may  look.  But  this  is 
clearly  unnatural.  The  meaning  would  rather  be : 
Ephraim  is  as  when  I  look  upon  Tyre,  i.  e.,  when 

I  look  on  Ephraim,  it  is  as  when  I  look  on  Tyre. 
Others    (Ewald)    by    changing    the    reading    to 

iTflSy:  in  shape,  as  to  form,  outward  appear- 
ance. Others  take  "112  in  the  sense  of  the  Arabic  : 
a  palm  =  Ephraim,  as  I  beheld  (it),  is  a  palm. 
[The  opinion  approved  above  is  apparently  that 
entertained  by  the  translators  in  E.  V.  It  is  that 
approved  by  most  expositors,  and  is  the  most  ob- 
vious sense  suggested  by  the  words.  — M.] 

Ver.  14.  According  to  many  expositors,  this  is 
an  intercession  of  the  prophet :  May  the  Lord  not 
let  the  mothers  bring  forth,  rather  than  that  the 
sons  should  be  destined  to  death.  But  an  interces- 
sion would  scarcely  suit  in  such  a  severe  announce- 
ment of  judgment.  Therefore  others  consider  it 
a  prayer  that  other  punishment  may  be  inflicted. 
An  important  element  in  the  punishment  is  the 
unfruitfulness  of  marriages.     The  thought  of  ver. 

II  would  then  be  essentially  resumed. 

Ver.  15.  It  cannot  now  be  shown  how  all  theii 
evil  was  in  Gilgal.  Comp.  for  the  rest,  ch.  iv.  15. 
[Henderson  :  "  Gilgal,  being  one  of  the  chief  places 
of  idolatrous  worship,  the  wickedness  of  the  nation 
might  be  said  to  be  concentrated  in  it."  This  is  the 
usual  explanation.  —  M.]  From  my  house  = 
out  of  my  congregation  (viii.  1). 

Ver.  16.  The  prophet  beholds  the  future  as  al- 
ready present  (comp.  ver.  11) ;  only  that  here  the 
image  of  a  tree  which  can  no  longer  put  forth  its 
shoots,  is  first  employed.  In  the  last  member, 
however  :  and  even  if  they  should  bear,  no  fig- 
ure is  employed. 

Ver.  17  completes  the  whole,  by  giving  the 
ground  of  the  punishment,  and  stating  that  pun- 
ishment clearly  to  be  banishment  among  the  fla- 
tions,  when  the  people  should  be  fugitives. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  The  judgment  stands  here  altogether  in  the 
foreground,  and  the  punishment  which  the  people 
are  to  expect  is  that  they  will  be  carried  away  into 
Assyria.  That  event  is  here  indicated  as  "  a  re- 
turn to  Egypt,"  not  literally,  but  rather  symbol- 
ically (ver.  3).  The  captivity  is  regarded  not  so 
much  as  an  outward  fact,  but  according  to  its  in- 
ternal aspect,  as  the  direct  negation  of  that  which 
God  had  done  to  Israel  in  leading  them  out  of 
Egypt.  Several  features  in  the  Exodus  made  it 
of  special  significance  to  Israel.  One  was  tha 
great  and  undeniable  mercy  of  God.  Viewing  it 
more  closely,  it  was  a  merciful  liberation  of  Israel 
from  bondage,  from  complete  subjection  to  a  for- 
eign power.  It  was  thus  the  condition  and  the 
beginning  of  Israel's  existence  as  an  independent 
nation.  But  not  only  so  :  God  thus  brought  this 
people  under  special  obligations  to  Him.    As  He 


V 


78 


HOSEA. 


had  owned  them  to  be  his  so  expressly  and  em- 
phatically in  Egypt,  and  separated  them  from 
Egypt,  they  became  by  his  leading  them  forth 
justly  and  legitimately  his  inheritance.  And  al- 
though this  specific  relation  of  Israel  towards  God 
did  not  assume  its  normal  form  until  the  giving  of 
the  Law,  yet  the  leading  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt 
lay  at  the  foundation  of  their  exaltation  to  become 
his  people.  Finally,  it  was  the  condition  of,  and 
the  first  step  towards,  their  introduction  into  that 
country  which  God  had  promised  to  give  to  Israel 
as  his  people,  and  had  therefore  a  fundamental  sig- 
nificance in  their  history.  Now  the  Assyrian  Cap- 
tivity is  the  direct  contrast  to  this,  and  is  therefore 
represented  as  a  "  return  to  Egypt."  It  is  as  sig- 
nal a  display  of  God's  displeasure  and  wrath  as 
the  former  was  of  his  mercy.  It  is  the  loss  of  free- 
dom, a  reduction  to  a  state  of  bondage,  and  a  sur- 
render to  the  power  of  a  foreign  enemy.  Israel  is 
only  free  through  his  God,  and  remains  so  only  so 
long  as  he  serves  Him ;  by  apostasy  from  Him,  he 
therefore  forfeited  that  freedom,  and  therefore  at 
last  must  lose  it,  and  forego  an  independent  exist- 
ence. This  surrender  to  the  power  of  the  heathen 
stands  further  in  the  strongest  contrast  to  Israel's 
relation  to  God  as  his  people.  They  are  thus  real- 
ly dismissed  from  this  position  by  God,  and  aban- 
doned by  Him  as  his  people  (comp.  vers.  15,  17). 
They  are  in  fact  made  a  "  Not-My-People."  Israel 
ignpred  the  Law  given  at  Sinai,  and  Jehovah  ig- 
nores the  deliverance  from  Egypt ;  and,  lastly,  the 
Assyrian  Captivity  is  the  loss  of  that  country  in 
which  Israel's  position  as  God's  people  had  its  ma- 
terial basis,  as  the  deliverance  from  Egypt  looked 
towards  the  possession  of  that  country.  Comp. 
ver.  3.  And  as  the  Promised  Land  was  essentially 
one  of  divine  blessing,  the  loss  of  this  blessing  is 
naturally  referred  to  with  special  emphasis.  If  Is- 
rael has,  like  the  heathen,  ascribed  such  a  blessing 
to  false  gods,  it  cannot  enjoy  the  land  presented 
to  it  as  God's  people,  but  as  it  became  like  the 
heathen,  it  shall  return  again  into  their  countries. 
With  the  loss  of  the  "Land  of  Jehovah,"  however, 
is  united,  as  a  peculiarly  distressing  consequence, 
the  loss  of  the  sacrificial  service,  and  of  the  sanc- 
tification  in  life  thereby  conditioned.  Israel  is  sent 
away  into  the  land  of  impurity.  In  this  the  Cap- 
tivity is  like  a  return  to  Egypt.  Already  in  this 
we  hear  the  sigh  of  the  banished  after  the  Holy 
Land.  Those  against  whom  the  objurgatory  dis- 
course is  primarily  directed  will,  it  is  true,  feel 
least  the  impossibility  of  serving  God.  And  yet 
even  they  cannot  deny  their  Israelitish  character, 
and  least  of  all  in  a  strange  land.  That  which 
they  now  do  not  wish  to  do,  or  to  be  able  to  do, 
will  hereafter  be  the  occasion  of  their  bitter  sorrow 
—  and  thus  it  ever  is. 

2.  "  All  nations  rejoice  over  and  enjoy  a  rich  har- 
vest (comj).  Is.  ix.  2),  because  they  see  in  the  boun- 
tiful harvest  a  sign  and  pledge  of  the  divine  favor, 
demanding  gratitude  to  the  Giver.  If  now  the 
heathen  ascribe  these  gifts  to  their  gods  and  thank 
them  after  their  manner,  they  do  this  in  the  igno- 
rance of  their  hearts,  without  being  specially  guilty 
in  so  doing,  because  they  live  without  the  light  of 
divine  revelation.  If,  on  the  contrary,  Israel  re- 
joiced in  the  blessings  of  harvest  like  the  heathen, 
and  ascribed  them  to  Baal  (ii.  7 ),  God  could  not 
leave  unpunished  this  denial  of  his  gracious  ben- 
efits "  (Keil).  It  amounts  to  the  same  thing  when 
•>ne  generation  ascribes  such  blessings  partly  to 
their  own  labor  and  partly  to  "  nature,"  and  ac- 
tordingly  its  joy  is  purely  "  natural,"  altogether 
i\uid  of  gratitude  to  the  great  Giver,  and  man- 


ifests itself  necessarily  in  all  kinds  of  self-indul- 
gence. 

3.  When  the  judgment  comes,  the  falseness  of 
the  false  prophets  becomes  manifest.  By  these  are, 
without  doubt,  to  be  understood  those  who,  apin^ 
the  position  of  Prophets  of  Jehovah,  came  forward 
as  the  pretended  announcers  of  the  divine  will,  and 
as  the  advisers  of  the  people,  especially  of  the  rvl- 
ers,  but  in  their  flattery  of  the  people  would  pro- 
nounce good  and  justify  everything,  and  therefoi* 
predicted  prosperity  and  deliverance  (Ezek.  xiii. 
10),  and  never  uttered  a  word  of  earnest  rebuke. 
They  were  trusted  only  too  well.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  true  Prophets  had  to  meet  everywhere 
snares  and  enmity.  Men  know  too  late  who  are 
their  true  friends,  and  who  their  false. 

4.  The  true  prophet  must,  it  is  true,  enter  into 
God's  designs,  not  merely  of  mercy,  but  also  of 
righteous  judgment ;  must  announce  them,  so  far 
as  they  have  been  revealed  ;  and  he  may  even  de- 
sire their  fulfillment,  in  order  that  a  limit  may  be 
set  to  sin,  and  God's  glory  be  spread.  Yet  it  must 
be  observed  that  when  the  prophets  invoke  judg 
ment,  they  do  not  implore  the  destruction  and  death 
of  the  individual  sinner,  but  only  the  "  political  " 
death,  the  destruction  of  a  godless  kingdom,  be- 
cause it  had  filled  up  the  measure  of  its  sins  and 
thus  became  amenable  to  judgment,  concerning 
which  there  could  be  no  doubt  in  the  prophet's 
mind. 

5.  With  respect  to  Israel's  conduct  towards  God, 
we  are  to  observe  the  retrospect  of  former  times 
(vers  9,  10,  comp.  x.  7 ;  xi.  1,  2).  The  sins  of 
the  present  are  thus  shorn  of  their  individuality 
and  shown  to  form  part  of  a  whole  complexity  of 
sin.  These  are  only  a  mode  of  manifestation,  a 
new  phase,  of  the  same  spirit,  which  was  before, 
and  had  been  always,  displayed.  As  with  the  dis- 
plays of  God's  love  to  Israel,  so  with  the  sins  of 
Israel  against  God.  Instead  of  an  atomizing  and 
mechanical  view  of  this  subject,  we  have  a  dynamic 
one,  which  alone  is  justifiable  in  the  ethical  sphere. 
From  this  conception  of  the  evil,  according  to 
which  its  several  manifestations  of  a  constant  fun- 
damental tendency  in  the  minds  of  a  single  nation, 
no  great  step  is  needed  to  reach  the  assumption  of 
a  constant  disposition  to  evil  in  mankind  gener- 
ally, of  hereditary  sin,  in  which  the  individual  with 
his  special  offenses  only  confirms  and  realizes  the 
sinful  disposition  of  the  race. 


HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Wurt.  Summ.  :  Vers.  1,  2.  Sincere  Christians 
should,  in  the  blessings  of  God,  so  rejoice  in  the 
Lord,  as  to  acknowledge  that  all  good  is  from 
Him  alone,  to  whom  they  must  therefore  give 
thanks,  and  so  use  them  as  not  abusing  them,  but 
employ  them  to  God's  glory.  Then  will  God  the 
Lord  not  cease  to  do  them  good. 

Ver.  3.  Starke  :  That  is  the  Lord's  land 
where  God  is  truly  worshipped  and  honored. 

Vers.  4,  5.  Pfaff.  Bibe/werk:  When  the 
measure  of  iniquity  is  full,  God  at  last  takes  away 
the  lamp  of  his  Word  from  its  place.  Beware, 
then,  you  who  have  the  truth,  lest  darkness  fall 
upon  you. 

[Puset  :  It  is  in  human  nature  to  neglect  to 
serve  God  when  He  wills  it,  and  then  to  neglect 
to  serve  Him  when  He  forbids  it.  The  more 
solemn  the  day  and  the  more  total  man's  exclu- 
sion, the  more  manifest  God's  withdrawal.  —  M.] 

[Ver.  6.   Matt.  Henry  :    Thost  that  think  pro 


CHAPTER  X.  1-15. 


inmptuously  to  outrun  God's  judgments  ai-e  likely 
enough  to  meet  their  deaths  when  they  had  hoped 
to  save  their  lives.  —  M.] 

Ver.  7.  We  usually  discover  too  late  who  are 
oar  true  friends  and  who  our  false. 

Pfaff.     Bibelwerk :  False  prophets  are  a  token  I 
of  God's  wrath  burning  over  a  church  or  nation. 

|Pusey  :  The  man  of  the  world  and  the  Chris- 
tian judge  of  the  same  tilings  by  clear  contrary 
rules,  use  them  for  quite  contrary  ends.  The  slave 
of  pleasure  counts  him  mad  who  foregoes  it ;  the 
wealthy  trader  counts  him  mad  who  gives  away 
profusely.  In  these  days  profusion  for  the  love 
of  Christ  has  been  counted  a  ground  for  depriving 
a  man  of  his  property.  One  or  the  other  is  mad, 
and  worldlings  must  count  the  Christian  mad,  or 
they  must  own  themselves  to  be  so  most  fearfully 
(Wisdom  v.  3-6).  The  sinner  first  neglects  God; 
then,  as  the  will  of  God  is  brought  before  him,  he 
willfully  disobeys  Him  ;  then,  when  he  finds  God's 
will  irreconcilably  at  variance  with  his  own,  or 
when  God  chastens  him,  he  hates  Him,  and  hates 
Him  greatly.  —  M.] 

Ver.  8.  Let  it  not  offend  you,  if,  for  the  sake  of 
the  truth,  you  must  suffer  persecution.  "Even 
to  persecuted  they  the  prophets  who  were  before 
you." 


Ver.  12.  When  God  is  grauously  disposed  to- 
wards us,  He  is  our  Light,  our  Way,  our  Life,  our 
Love,  our  Comfort,  our  Joy,  our  Shepherd,  our 
Physician,  our  Bridegroom,  our  Father,  and  our 
Redeemer.  If  He  departs  from  us,  all  this  is 
gone,  like  as  when  the  sun  sets  and  darkness  cov- 
ers all. 

Spur  :  When  the  divine  wrath  has  begun  to 
burn,  it  rises,  so  to  speak,  by  degrees.  And  God 
commonly  proceeds  by  beginning  at  what  is  most 
external  to  us,  whose  loss  we  would  not  deeply 
feel,  but  ever  advances  further  towards  that  which 
is  dearer  and  of  more  moment,  until  at  last  He 
strikes  at  our  very  selves.  If  God  is  not  gracious 
towards  us,  He  is  angry ;  He  can  sustain  no  in- 
termediate relation. 

Ver.  1 5.  God  refuses  at  last  to  grant  to  unfaith- 
ful children  even  the  privileges  of  his  house.  He 
at  the  same  time  disinherits  them.  When  God 
ceases  to  love  us  we  are  lost.  Hence  nothing  is 
more  necessary  than  the  prayer  :  Withdraw  not 
thy  love  from  us.  Nothing  is  more  precious  than 
the  power  to  say :  I  am  persuaded  that  nothing 
can  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord. 

Ver.  16.  Whole  families,  even  whole  nation* 
die  oat  through  God's  judgments ! 


C    Devastation  of  the  Seats  of  Worship.     Destruction  of  the  Kingdom. 
Chapter  X.  1-15. 


1  Israel  is  a  thriving  vine 1 
Which  sends  forth  its  fruit ; 
As  its  fruit  abounded, 

It  multiplied  altars ; 

According  to  the  prosperity  of  the  land, 

The  better  they  made  their  images. 

2  Their  heart  is  smooth  :  now  will  they  make  expiation : 
He  will  cut  down  their  altars,  he  will  destroy  their  images 

3  For  now  they  will  say  : 
We  have  no  king, 
Because  we  did  not  fear  God, 

And  the  king  —  what  will  he  do  for  us. 

4  They  speak  words, 

Swearing 2  falsely  and  contracting  alliances  : 
And  justice  grows  like  the  poison-plant 
In  the  furrows  of  the  field. 

5  For  the  calves  3  of  Samaria, 

The  inhabitants  of  Samaria  will  tremble, 
For  its  people  mourn  for  it, 
And  its  idol-priests  will  tremble  for  it, 
For  its  glory,  that  it  has  departed  from  it. 

6  Itself4  will  be  carried  to  Assyria, 
As  a  present  to  the  warlike  king : 
Shame  will  take  hold  upon  Ephraim, 
And  Israel  will  be  ashamed  of  its  counsel. 

7  Samaria5  is  destroyed, 

Its  king  is  like  a  chip  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 


80  HOSEA. 

8  The  high  places  of  Aven  are  devastated, 
The  sin  of  Israel, 

Thorns  and  thistles  will  grow  upon  its  altars, 
Then  they  will  say  to  the  mountains  :  Cover  us ! 
And  to  the  hills  :  Fall  upon  us  ! 

9  Since  the  days  of  Gibeah,  thou  hast  sinned,  Israel ! 
There  they  stood : 

The  war  against  the  sons  of  iniquity 6  did  not  reach  them  in  Gibeah, 

10  As  I  please,  I  will  fetter  them,7 

And  the  nations  will  gather  themselves  against  them, 
When  I  bind  them  for  their  two  offenses. 

11  For  Ephraim  is  a  well-trained  heifer, 
Which  loves 8  to  thresh  : 

But  I  will  pass  over  her  fair  neck  : 

I  will  yoke  Ephraim, 

Judah  shall  plough, 

Jacob  [Ephraim]  shall  harrow. 

12  Sow  for  yourselves  according  to  righteousness, 

And  reap  for  yourselves  in  the  (like)  measure  of  mercy  1 

Break  for  yourselves  (new)  soil ! 

For  it  is  time  to  seek  Jehovah, 

Until  he  come  and  rain  righteousness  upon  you. 

13  (Yet)  ye  have  ploughed  wickedness, 
Ye  have  reaped  iniquity, 

Ye  have  eaten  the  fruit  of  lying : 
Because  thou  didst  trust  in  thy  way, 
In  the  multitude  of  thy  heroes. 

14  And  the  noise  of  war 9  has  risen  among  your  tribes,10 
And  all  thy  fortresses  are  destroyed, 

As  Shalman  destroyed  Beth-arbel  in  the  day  of  battle, 
The  mother  is  dashed  upon  her  children. 

15  Thus  has  Bethel u  done  to  you, 

For  the  evil  of  your  evil  [your  great  evil], 

In  the  early  morning  [soon]  the  king  of  Israel  shall  be  utterly  destroyed. 


TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

[1  Ver.  1.  —  ^Q2  Is  always  fem.  except  here  and  in  2  Kings  iv.  39.  It  is  masc.  here  as  relating  to  Israel,  i  7  U 
net  strictly  pleonastic  here,  it  having  the  force  of  the  poss.  pronoun. :  its  fruit.  —  M.] 

2  Ver.  4.  — rVivS.  though  an  inf.  absol..  is  here  conformed  to  HIS   instead  of  71 7H. 

T*  T  T 

8  Ver.  6.  —  Wiinsche  :  m  ,317.  The  fem.  is  surprising,  since  the  calves  which  were  worshipped,  really  three-year- 
old  steers,  appear  elsewhere  always  masc.  It  cannot  be  deemed  far-fetched  to  suggest  that  the  fem.  is  employed  some- 
what contemptuously  and  sarcastically." 

4  Ver.  6.  —  iniS  with  the  passive.  According  to  Ewald,  §  299  d,  the  active  sense  pervades  the  passive  throughout 
In  such  a  case  as  this  ;  thus  v3V  here  =  one  leads  it.  Fiirst  is  of  a  different  opinion.  According  to  him  the  prim- 
ary notion  of  jllS  is  being,  essence,  and  it  therefore  serves  to  emphasize  the  subject.  [The  former  is  the  prevailing 
and  preferable  view.  Comp.  Green,  Gr.,  §  271,  4  a.  The  opinion  of  Fiirst  seems  to  have  been  based  upon  his  theory 
that  there  is  an  affinity  between  jTIS  (jHW)  and  ti^,  and  some  other  words  of  similar  radicals  and  significations.  — 
M.] 

5  Ver.  7.  —  H3  7fi,  with  a  fem.  suffix,  because  "P^rilC,  as  being  a  city,  is  fem.  On  the  other  hand  n^"T2  hal 
a  masc.  form  because  it  stands  at  the  beginning  of  the  sentence.  The  construction  here,  according  to  the  Masoretio 
pnnctation  is  either  an  asyndeton  :  Samaria  and  her  king,  or  the  latter  is  explanatory  of  the  former  :  Samaria,  namely, 

her  king  (  =  the  whole  kingdom).     Wiinsche  adopts  the  probably  preferable  view  that   PO  vS2  begins  a  new  sentence. 

[6  Ver.  9. —  fT  i?37  transposed  from  HI?'.  One  edition  (the  Brisian)  and  many  MSS.  have  the  common  firm 
rhls  would  be  the  only  case  of  the  occurrence  of  the  transposition.  —  M.] 

T  Ver.  10  —  D^ESI.      1    marks  U  e  apodosis      The  verb  !•  from  ~1~S  [with  daghesh  compensative.    -M.J. 


CHAPTER  X.    1-15. 


81 


[8  Ver.  11.  —  "\H2nS.    The  ^   is  paragogic,  with  the  fern.  part.   nSHK,  —  M.] 

[9  Ver.  14.  —  DSp%  The  S  is  either  epenthetic,  or  it  is  merely  a  mater  kctionis,  which  is  most  probable  ;  nee 
fireen,  Gr.,  §  11,  1.  —  M.] 

[10  Ver.  14.  — A  number  of  MSS.  and  early  editions  read  tJS^3  instead  of  Tp^pS.  The  ancient  Versions  ar« 
claimed  as  having  followed  this  reading  also  ;  but  it  is  more  probable  that  they  rendered  the  plural  as  sing.,  the  noun 
being  a  collective  one.  —  M.] 

10  Ver.  15.  —  Some  suppose  the  5   *°  ^ve  been  omitted  before  7N"i"T,2l,  and  the  latter  to  be  local. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Ver.  1.  Comp.  Ps.  lxxx.  9-12.  There  is  also 
an  allusion  to  ch.  ix.  10,  and  yet  the  image  is  quite 
differently  applied.  Israel  is  represented  here  not 
so  much  as  being  pleasant  in  itself  and  of  worth 
in  the  sight  of  Jehovah  (and  is  therefore  not  com- 
pared to  fruit),  but  from  the  stand-point  of  its 
fruitfulness,  which,  however,  was  of  the  wrong 
kind.     Hence  even  its  fruitfulness  will  be  taken 

away  from  it  (ch.  ix.  16).  PfjpSj  according  to 
Fiirst  =  blooming  (LXX.,  Syr.,  Aquila),  and 
thereafter  according  to  Keil :  climbing,  thriving, 

after  the  primary  idea  of  ^pll :  to  pour  out,  to 
run  itself  out,  here  =  climb  upwards.  [Fiirst  com- 
pares the  Arab,  bakka :  to  bloom.  If  this  sense  is 
the  correct  one,  this  is  the  only  case  of  the  occur- 
rence of  this  verb.  —  M.J     The  meaning  :  empty, 

s  unsuitable,  rfttp  :  to  place,  set  =  prepares, 
furnishes  fruit  for  itself. 

Ver.  2.  Their  heart  is  smooth.  The  expres- 
sion is  elsewhere  employed  of  the  tongue,  lips, 
words  =  deceitful,  false,  not  sincere  (devoted  to 
God).     The  explanation  :  divided,  is  false,  for  the 

Kal  means  :  to  divide,  transitive.  ^"^51  is  prop- 
erly :  to  cut  off  the  head  by  striking  the  neck. 
[Henderson :  "  It  is  properly  a  sacrificial  term. 
It  is  here,  with  much  force,  used  metonymically, 
in  application  to  the  destruction  of  the  altars  on 
which  the  animals  themselves  were  offered."    For 

the  force  of  ^tt^.  see  on  ver.  15.  —  M.  | 

Ver.  3.  They  will  then  see  that  they  have  no 
king  any  longer,  because  they  forsake  Jehovah,  i. 
«.,  none  appointed  by  God,  and  none,  therefore, 

who  can  help  them.     <~^^  :  to  do  =  to  profit. 

Ver.  4  explains  especially  the  smoothness  of 
the  heart  of  ver.  2.  They  speak  words,  mere 
words,  without  sincerity.  The  following  infinitives 
avouch  the  statement.  The  covenants  are  such  as 
want  truth;  they  were  concluded  (with  foreign 
nations)  only  for  the  sake  of  an  expected  advan- 
tage, not  from  real  friendship.  E?^"\  poison, 
here  =  poison  -plant.  TSStpp.  Most  take  this  = 
judgment.  A  force  far-reaching  and  seizing  upon 
everything,  is  supposed  to  be  described.  But  the 
divine  judgment  cannot  be  compared  to  a  vile 
plant  outgrowing  everything  else.  Hence  we  must 
remain  by  the  meaning :  justice.  The  thought  is 
manifest :  If  justice  prevailed,  the  land  would  be 
like  a  well-appointed  field,  but  it  is  now  like  one 
that  is  neglected,  and  in  which  therefore  poison 
plants  spring  up,  because  justice  was  prostrated. 
By  a  somewhat  bold  figure  justice,  when  falsely 
administered,  when  perverted  and  abused,  is  com- 
pared to  a  poisonous  plant.  It  has  been  changed 
Into  it,  as  it  were.  Comp.  Amos  vi.  12.  [Hen- 
derson adheres  to  the  former  explanation ;  Pusey 
approves  the  latter.  It  is  also  preferred  by  Cowles, 
who  illustrates  it  from  Amos  v.  7  ;  vi.  12,  and  sup- 


poses that  Hosea  adapted  the  image  from  its  use 
by  his  predecessor. — M.] 

Ver.  5.  The  punishment  can  therefore  not  lin- 
ger.    Already  the  inhabitants  of  Samaria  tremble 

for  the  golden  calves.  Keil :  The  plural  Hi  v32? 
stands  here  as  indefinite  and  general,  without  our 
being  obliged  to  infer  that  several  golden  calves 
had  been  set  up  in  Bethel."  A  sing,  at  all  events 
immediately  follows.  Wiinsche :  "  The  Prophet 
is  thinking  of  all  the  calves  in  the  northern  king 
dom  which  were  imitations  of  the  chief  golder. 
idol  erected  at  Bethel.  By  these  imitations  aL 
Israel  had,  in  a  certain  manner,  become  a  Beth 
Aven."  Beth-Aven.  Seech,  iv.  15.  Its  people, 
—  its  priests.  The  suffixes  refer  to  the  idol-god. 
What  a  strong  accusation  !    The  people  are  named 

the  people  of  the  calf-god.  ^^  ?^  usually  =  to 
rejoice,  but  here  (employed  for  the  sake  of  the  as- 
surance with  ft/jO  =  ^C'  t0  writhe  in  anguish, 
to  mourn,  parallel  to  vSW.  On  its  account,  also 
refers  to  the  calf,  and  is  more  nearly  explained  by 
the  words,  for  its  glory,  i.  e.,  the  glory  and  the 
divine  nimbus  which  were  associated  with  the  calf- 
worship.  This  glory  will  depart  from  the  calf, 
where  it  cannot  give  protection  from  the  enemy, 
and  will  itself  be  carried  away. 

Ver.  6.  Itself  also,  namely,  the  golden  calf.  [See 
Gram.  note].  Its  counsel,  namely,  that  which  it- 
self gave  to  itself,  namely,  to  apply  to  Assyria.  [On 
the  phrase  :  warlike  king,  see  ch.  v.  13.  —  M.] 

Vers.  7,  8.  The  kingdom  of  Samaria  falls  along 
with  its  gods.  [See  Gram,  note.]  The  image  of 
a  chip  on  the  surface  of  the  water  denotes  the 
untraceable  disappearance,  and  probably  also  the 
violent  destruction  =  as  a  chip  upon  the  water  is 

driven  on  by  the  stream  and  so  disappears.    HIES 

7?.^  are  literally  :  the  heights  of  evil.  But  Aven, 
in  allusion  to  Beth-Aven  =  Bethel  ;  for  its  high 
places  were  heights  of  evil,  since  the  image-wor- 
ship which  rose  in  Bethel  =  Beth-Aven,  was  prac- 
ticed there.  The  sin  of  Israel  is  in  apposition 
to  the  high-places,  etc.  Those  high  places  were 
the  sin  of  Israel,  because  it  was  by  means  of  them 
that  Israel  sinned.  Then  they  say  to  the  moun 
tains,  etc.  This  expresses  the  hopelessness  of  de- 
spair. They  would  rather  be  buried  by  the  moun- 
tains, than  undergo  the  afflictions  of  such  a  time. 
Applied  in  Luke  xxiii.  30  and  Rev.  vi.  16. 

Ver.  9.  From  the  days  of  Gibeah.  These 
days,  referred  to  already  in  ch.  iv.  9  (see  that  pas- 
sage), are  regarded  as  the  beginning  of  Israel's  sin- 
ning. Others  take  the  words  comparatively: 
more  than  in  the  days  of  Gibeah.  [So  Cowles : 
This  opinion  is  not  common.  —  M.]  The  follow- 
ing words  are  difficult.  Ewald :  There  they  (the 
Israelites)  stood.  Should  not  war  against  the 
sons  of  impiety  reach  them  in  Gibeah  ?  Keil : 
There,  that  is,  in  the  same  sin,  they  stood,  t.  e., 
remained ;  the  war  against  the  sons  of  iniquity 
did  not  reach  them  in  Gibeah,  that  is,  the  war 


82 


HOSEA. 


Mice  waged  by  the  other  tribes  of  Israel  against 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  on  account  of  the  infamous 
deed  of  the  men  of  Gibeah,  did  not  reach  the  Ten 
Tribes,  i.  e.,  they  were  destroyed  by  no  such  war 
like  others  of  the  Israelites,  though  they  did  not 
less  deserve  such  a  fate,  therefore  God  will  pun- 
ish them  now.  But  the  translation  is  forced. 
Wiinsche  perhaps  explains  better,  though  much 
might  be  said  against  his  translation  also  :  The}' 
stood  there  —  that  war  might  not  reach  them  in 
Giheah  —  beside  the  sons  of  iniquity.  The  pas- 
sage accordingly  says  in  what  the  sin  of  Israel  in 
the  days  of  Gibeah  had  consisted,  namely  in  this, 
that  they,  the  Benjamites,  had  stood  by  the  Lev- 
ites  in  Gibeah  =  the  sons  of  iniquity  against  the 
rest   of  the  Israelites.     Esth.  ix.  16;  viii.  11  are 

cited  in  proof  that  "TCI?  with  717  has  the  sense 
of  standing  by  [assisting].  [The  translation  as- 
signed above  to  Keil,  which  is  also  that  of  E.  V., 
is  approved  by  Cowles.  Instead  of  being  "forced  " 
it  is  evidently  the  most  simple  and  natural.  Hen- 
derson translates  :  shall  not  the  war  against  the 
unjust  overtake  them  in  Gibeah  ?  See  Textual 
note.  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.   ''rVtWS  •  in  my  desire  =  when  or  as  I 

will.  [Keil :  "  An  anthropomorphic  description 
of  the  severity  of  the  chastisement."]  To  take 
part  in  the  infliction  of  chastisement,  nations 
will  be  gathered  against  Israel.  The  reference  is 
to  the  war  against  the  sons  of  iniquity  (ver.  9). 
[This  reference  is  not  clear  unless  the  construction 
of  Ewald  and  Henderson  given  above  be  adopted. 
—  M.j     The  last    hemistich    is    difficult.      The 

Kethibh  is  DHI12',3?-     According  to  Fiirst  from 

7?P  in  the  sense  of  nothingness  =  "PN,  therefore 

in  the  concrete :  idol-image.  Keri  CHlDI^  = 
sins.  According  to  the  first  explanation,  idol-im- 
ages =  calves.  The  latter  is  probably  correct  as 
referred  by  Keil  to  the  double  sin  of  apostasy  from 
Jehovah  and  from  the  royal  house  of  David.  The 
whole  clause  would  therefore  be :  When  I  bind 
them  to  their  two  transgressions  (namely,  by  pun- 
ishing them)  so  that  they  must  drag  them,  so  to 
Bpeak,  as  an  oppressive  burden.  The  sense  may, 
however,  be  simply  :  on  account  of  their  two 
transgressions.  The  image  of  the  heifer  in  the 
next  verse  is  anticipated  here.  [The  explanation 
last  given  is  now  usually  followed  and  is  the  most 
probable.  Raschi  and  Ewald  translate:  before 
their  two  eyes,  i.  e.,  openly.  The  rendering:  fur- 
rows, in  E.  V.  follows  the  Targum  and  the  ma- 
jority of  the  Rabbins.  —  M.] 

Ver.  11.  i~H£ 7Q,  taught,  trained  for  work. 
■Which  loves  to  thresh  :  According  to  many  ex- 
positors this  refers  to  the  circumstance  that  thresh- 
ing is  the  lighter  work,  in  which,  besides,  the 
heifer  may  eat  at  her  pleasure,  and  hence  is  an 
image  of  the  pleasant  and  prosperous  condition  of 
Israel.  According  to  others  the  tert.  comp.  is  the 
treading,  and  hence  the  victorious  power  and  do- 
minion of  Israel,  as  under  Jeroboam  II.  would  be 
represented  with  the  accessory  notion  of  a  violent 
jreatment  of  those  who  had  been  subdued.  But 
now  the  situation  of  Israel  would  be  different. 
[This  is  the  more  common  and  certainly  the  pref- 
erable explanation.  So  Henderson,  Cowles,  and 
other  English  Expositors.  —  M.]  I  will  pass 
over  her  fair  neck  —  in  a  hostile  sense  =  I  will 
place  a  yoke  upon  her.     i^tD :  beauty,  alluding 


to  her  fatness.  S^S^W :  I  will  cause  to  be  drivel 
=  I  will  yoke,  namely,  for  ploughing  and  harrow 
ing.  The  compulsory  endurance  of  severe  toJ 
appears  here  in  complete  contrast  to  the  preced 
ing  situation.  Judah  shall  share  the  same  fate 
This  is  mentioned  only  incidentally  and  in  com 
parison  with  Ephraim  ;  but  the  similar  lot  of  tha 
former  is  constantly  alluded  to  Jacob,  here  men- 
tioned along  with  Judah,  probably  =  Ephraim. 
V?  shall  harrow  for  himself,  forcibly  expressing 
strongly  that  this  toil  is  not  spared  him.  [So 
also  Keil  ;  but  this  explanation  seems  unnatural. 
Others,  as  Fausset,  translate  :  break  the  clods  be- 
fore him  ;  but  the  preposition  must  be  unduly 
forced  to  make  it  convey  such  a  sense  The  best 
way  is  to  regard  it  as  a  pleonasm.  Comp.  Gen. 
xii.  1  ;  Job  xv.  28;  Sol.  Song  ii.  17,  and  many 
other  passages. —  M.] 

Vers.  12,  13.  The  image  of  ploughing  and  har- 
rowing leads  to  that  of  sowing  and  reaping.  But 
the  discourse  turns  from  the  threatening,  which 
holds  out  the  prospect  of  punishment,  to  an  ex- 
hortation to  return  (in  order  to  escape  punish- 
ment), which  is  then  (ver.  13)  supported  by  an  al- 
lusion to  the  present  conduct  of  the  people  (under 
the  same  figure).  According  to  righteousness. 
The  divine  righteousness,  by  its  being  sown,  i.  e., 
by    its    operation,   should    be    their   determining 

principle,  be  their  norm  and  standard.  "TQH  in 
then  to  be  understood  of  the  mercy  of  God.  Th<j 
harvest  will,  if  they  sow  thus,  be  determined  by 
the  mercy  of  God  (not  merely  by  desert),  shall  be 
bountiful"  and  of  good  quality ;  this  mercy  itself 

shall  be  the  harvest.     Keil  understands  •~'l77'^  *° 

mean  justice  towards  their  fellow-men ,  "K?0  of 
(condescending)  love  (towards  the  despised),  and 
explains  the  clause  thus  :  sow  righteousness  as  the 

seed  ;  the  fruit  will  be  love.  But  ""'Vl^  has  to«» 
clearly  the  signification  "  the  divine  reward  of  Is- 
rael's religious  and  moral   sowing"   (Wiinsche). 

31  ?I~T,D,  to  plough  new  soil.  The  words  go  back 
now  beyond  the  sowing.  Israel  does  not  merely 
need  to'  scatter  the  true  seed  ;  it  needs  a  new  soil 
and  must  therefore  begin  anew.     The  explanation 

of  P7.~  is  again  difficult.  It  could  be  taken  in 
the  sense  of  salvation,  blessing,  so  that  the  be- 
stowal of  salvation  and  blessings  would  be  the 
consequence  of  seeking  the  Lord.  In  not  a  few 
passages  this  signification  is  most  appropriate,  and 
the  usual  meaning  will  not  suit  here.  We  expect 
the  mention  not  of  a  moral  quality,  but  of  its  eon- 
sequences.  Keil  explains  :  "  God  rains  righteous- 
ness not  merely  in  giving  the  power  to  gain  it,  as 
He  gives  rain  for  the  growth  of  the  seed  (comp. 
Is.  xliv.  3),  but  also  because  He  himself  must 
create  it  and  inform  the  soul  with  it  by  his  Spirit  " 
(Ps.  Ii.  12).  This  in  itself  is  quite  true,  but  is  it 
proper  to  speak  of  raining  or  pouring  out  righte- 
ousness 1  This  differs  altogether  from  the  expres- 
sion :  to  pour  out  the  Spirit.  [This  figurative  ex- 
pression would  be  quite  characteristic  of  the  style 
of  Hosea.  It  would  be  only  another  instance  of 
the  boldness  and  freedom  of  his  imagery.  The 
figure  is  double,  including  also  a  metonymy,  in 
which  righteousness,  the  effect  of  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit,  is  put  for  the  cause  itself.     Many, 

following  the  Syr.,  Targ.,  and  Vulg.,  take  i"ITV 
=  He  will  teach.  —  M.] 

Ver.  13,  as  it  now  stands,   says  that   iniqnitj 


jHAPTER  X.  1-15. 


83 


has  been  ploughed  ;  iniquity  is  the  soil  which  they 
cultivated,  and  the  seed  and  the  harvest  corre- 
sponded to  it.  From  wickedness  there  resulted 
wickedness.  One  step  further  still  than  the  har- 
vest is  taken  in  the  following  words  :  Ye  have 
eaten  the  fruit  of  lying  =  the  fruit  which  de- 
ceives. The  result  of  this  conduct  is  nothing,  no 
profit  but  disaster  and  ruin.  The  cause  is  still 
more  specially  indicated  ;  in  other  words,  the  false 
conduct  of  Israel  is  characterized  :  since  thou 
didst  trust,  etc.,  namely,  instead  of  in  Jehovah. 

Ver.  14.  Among  thy  peoples.  People  either 
=  military  host,  or  as  in  the  Pentateuch  =  tribe. 
As  Shalman  destroyed  Beth-arbel.  This  fact 
is  not  known  from  history,  and  the  explanation  is 
therefore  uncertain.  According  to  the  usual  opin- 
ion Shalman  is  a  contraction  for  Shalmaneser,  the 
name  of  the  Assyrian  king  who  destroyed  the 
kingdom  of  the  Ten  Tribes1  (2  Kings  xvii.  6). 
Fiirst  understands  an  older  Assyrian  king  before 
Pul,  since  the  name  Shalmaneser  never  appears 
shortened  to  Shalman,  and  the  Assyrians  never 
engaged  in  a  destructive  battle  with  Israel,  and 
Shalmaneser  destroyed  Samaria  forty  years  later 
(after  Hosea).  Beth-arbel,  according  to  him,  is 
Beth-arbel  near  Gargamela,  made  famous  later  by 
the  victory  of  Alexander  the  Great.  Keil  sup- 
poses that  the  Prophet,  since  the  conquest  of  such 
a  distant  city  would  scarcely  have  been  known  to 
the  Israelites,  could  not  have  held  up  the  destruc- 
tion of  this  city  before  them  as  an  example,  and 
would  therefore  understand  the  Arbela  in  Upper 
Galilee,  between  Saphoris  and  Tiberias,  mentioned 
in  1  Mace.  ix.  2,  and  later  by  Josephus. 

Ver.  15.  The  subject  of  HQ737  is  either  Shal- 
man (if  =  Shalmaneser)  or  Jehovah,  of  whom  the 
Assyrian  king  is  the  instrument,  or  (as  the  Tar- 
gum  and  also  Keil)  Bethel,  because  that  city  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  ruin  which  befell  Israel. 
Evil  of  your  evil  =  the  most  extreme  evil  (comp. 

Ewald,  §  313  c).  "'C^?  :  in  the  early  morning, 
probably  =  early,  not :  at  the  time  when  prosperity 
shall  seem  to  be  dawning  or  near  (Keil).  There  is 
not  the  remotest  hint  of  this  in  the  context.  The 
king  of  Israel,  naturally  collective  =  the  kingdom 
of  Israel. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1 .  "In  the  midst  of  the  calf-worship  established 
by  Jeroboam,  the  Israelites  still  would  keep  before 
them  the  God  of  Israel ;  but  this  resulted  in  a  di- 
vided heart,  a  halting  between  two  opinions  (ver. 
2).  And  when  their  prosperity  became  under- 
mined by  God's  judgments,  the  smiting  of  a  guilty 
conscience  told  them  of  their  sin  ;  but  that  was  not 
a  repentance  unto  life.  The  improvement  of  cir- 
cumstances which  the  Israelites  sought  in  the 
schism  of  Jeroboam  cost  them  dear.  For,  since 
he  led  them  away  from  the  fear  of  God,  the  help 
which  was  to  have  been  expected  from  his  govern- 
ment was  already  undermined.  The  sinner  awak- 
ened by  chastisement  discovers  this  deception  of 
gin  much  more  readily  than  he  discovers  his  obli- 
gation to  return  to  God  with  a  contrite  heart" 
(Rieger). 

2.  One  chief  element  in  God's  judgment  upon 
Israel  was  the  destruction  of  the  seats  of  worship 
(,comp.  ch.  viii.),  and  hera,  more  particularly,  the 

1  [The  Assyrian  monuments  show  that  it  was  Sargon, 
fc«  son  of  Shalmaneser,  who  destroyed  Samaria.     The  paa- 


carrying  away  of  the  idol-gods  by  the  enemy  (vers 
5,  6).  Both  the  nothingness  of  idolatry  and  the 
great  guilt  of  Israel  are  here  unmistakably  exhib- 
ited. With  this  are  connected  the  destruction  of 
the  kingdom  (vers.  7,  15)  and  the  conquest  of  the 
country.  Freedom  is  lost ;  instead  of  it  comes 
slavery  (ver.  11).  The  anguish  of  the  judgment 
is  most  forcibly  depicted  (ver.  8)  in  expressions 
which,  in  Luke  xxiii.  30,  are  employed  to  set  forth 
the  distress  occasioned  by  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem, but,  in  Rev.  vi.  16,  to  docribe  the  terror  of 
"  the  great  day  of  the  Lord.'  Thus  the  description 
of  the  judgment  announced  by  Hosea  is  of  such  a 
character  as  to  be  a  type  of  the  final  judgment, 
even  though  Hosea  himself  does  not  designate  it 
"  the  day  of  the  Lord."  The  distress  of  a  late 
repentance  is  expressed  in  ver.  3.  It  is  a  part  of 
the  judgment,  since  it  consists  in  vain  self-re- 
proaches, all  too  late.  In  our  chapter  again  the 
necessary  connection  between  the  judgment  and  sin 
is  emphasized  by  the  image  of  the  sowing  and  the 
reaping :  from  an  evil  sowing  nothing  can  come  but 
an  evil  harvest.  The  expected  reward  must  only 
be  a  manifest  deception  :  "  the  fruit  of  lying." 


HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL 

Ver.  1.  This  was  the  result  of  God's  mercy. 
God  makes  the  vine  and  also  gives  the  growth  and 
the  precious  fruit.  And  as  long  as  God's  favor 
lasts,  so  long  are  men  like  such  a  plant.  A  beau- 
tiful image  of  a  life  blessed  by  God,  and  as  true  of 
nations  as  of  individuals.  But  it  is  a  deplorable 
thing  that  man  usually  cannot  bear  his  prosperity, 
and  that,  instead  of  being  led  by  God's  goodness 
to  repentance  and  nearer  to  God,  he  rather  forgets 
Him  (see  at  ch.  ii.  9).  The  fruits  are  not  given 
back  to  God.  Thus  is  God  often  defrauded  of  the 
fruits  which  men  owe  to  Him ;  and  "  idols,"  th« 
world,  and  the  flesh,  enjoy  what  are  his. 

[Matthew  Hbnkt  :  What  we  do  not  rightly 
employ  we  may  justly  expect  to  be  emptied  of.  It 
is  a  great  affront  to  God  and  a  great  abuse  of  his 
goodness,  when,  the  more  mercies  we  receive  from 
Him,  the  more  sins  we  commit  against  Him.  —  M] 

Ver.  2.  The  state  of  the  heart  is  the  source  of 
the  evil.  As  long  as  this  does  not  belong  to  Him, 
so  long  will  men  rob  Him  of  his  own.  God  will 
have  the  heart  as  his  alone,  and  suffers  none  to 
share  that  possession. 

Vers.  5,  6.  [Pusey  :  Without  the  grace  of  God 
men  mourn,  not  their  sins,  but  their  idols. 

Fausset  :  Separated  from  God  all  human 
power  is  weakness,  and  all  apparent  stability  fluc- 
tuating and  perishing  as  the  foam.  The  fear  of 
God  is  the  only  true  basis  of  solidity  and  perma- 
nence. —  M.] 

Ver.  8.  A  fearful  expression  of  the  despair 
with  which  impiety  shall  at  last  end  :  a  type  of 
the  anguish  of  the  lost  at  the  last  judgment. 

[Fausset  :  Surely  it  is  infinitely  better  to  pray 
to  Jesus  now  to  "cover  "  our  transgressions  with 
the  blood  of  his  atonement,  than  through  neglect 
of  this  to  have  to  cry  to  the  mountains  at  last, 
"  Fall  on  us  and  cover  us."  Our  prayer  to  Jesus, 
if  offered  in  faith  now,  shall  surely  be  heard;  but 
prayer  to  the  mountains  then  shall  be  in  vain.  — 
M.] 

Ver.  11.  Berlenburger  Bible:  The  pride 
which  exalts  itself  and  does  not  fear  before  Him 

gage  cited  above  simply  speaks  of  "  the  king  of  Assyria."  — 
M.] 


84 


HOSEA. 


who  is  the  God  of  the  whole  earth,  must  be  abased. 
0,  that  Ephraim  would  submit  himself  and  his 
neck  to  the  yoke  of  the  gentle  and  humble  Lamb  ! 

Ver.  12.  Berlenburger  Bible  :  When  a  man 
redeems  uncultivated  soil  he  restores  it  to  the  one 
to  whom  it  rightly  belongs.  For  he  is  the  only 
one  who  can  redeem  it.  We  have  received  from 
God  his  soil,  and  as  we  have  no  strength  to  make 
it  profitable,  it  remains  unfilled.  But  as  soon  as 
God  sees  that  we  would  break  up  this  uncultivated 
ground,  and  we,  feeling  our  inability,  seek  help  in 
Him,  He  ploughs  it  Himself  with  the  ploughshare 
of  the  cross.  Then  He  sows  righteousness  in  it, 
and  makes  it  fruitful  in  itself,  that  it  may  bear 
much  fruit  in  Christ. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Let  them  break  up  the 
fallow  ground ;  let  them  cleanse  their  hearts  from 


all  corrupt  affections  and  lusts  which  are  as  weedi 
and  thorns,  and  let  them  be  humbled  for  their  sins, 
and  be  of  a  broken  and  contrite  spirit  in  the  sensa 
of  them ;  let  them  be  full  of  sorrow  and  shame 
at  the  remembrance  of  them,  and  prepare  to  re- 
ceive the  divine  precepts,  as  the  ground  that  ii 
ploughed  is  to  receive  the  seed  that  it  may  taka 
root.     See  Jer.  iv.  3. 

Fausset  :  Grace  used  well  is  rewarded  gratui- 
tously with  more  grace.  —  M.] 

Ver.  13.  The  fruit  of  sin  is  ever  the  "  fruit  of 
lies."  For  sin  always  deceives  those  who  serve  it 
Going  in  our  own  ways  and  trusting  to  human 
power  is  shown  especially  to  be  deceptive. 

[Fausset  :  Only  when  we  mistrust  ourselves 
and  trust  in  the  Lord  and  his  righteousness  alone, 
are  we  safe,  justified,  and  blessed.  —  M.] 


DLL     MERCY. 


Chapter  XL 

God  cannot  utterly  destroy  Israel,  whom  He  has  always  loved,  though  they  have  so  basely 
requited  Him,  but  will  again  show  Mercy  unto  them. 

Chapter  XL  1-11. 

1  When  Israel  was  a  youth,  then  I  loved  Him, 
And  out  of  Egypt  I  called  my  son. 

2  They  [the  Prophets]  called  them  ;  so  (often)  they  turned  away  from  them  j 
They  sacrificed  to  the  Baals, 

They  burnt  incense  to  the  idol-gods. 

3  And  I  led  Ephraim  along,1 — 
He  took  them  2  upon  his  arm  ;  — 
Yet  they  knew  not  that  I  healed  them. 

4  With  the  bands  of  a  man  I  drew  them, 
With  cords  of  love  ; 

And  I  was  towards  them, 

As  those  that  would  raise  the  yoke-strap  over  their  jaws, 

And  I  reached  out  to  them  to  eat.8 

5  They  will  not  return  to  the  land  of  Egypt, 
But  Assyria,4  it  is  their  king, 

For  they  refused  to  return. 

6  And  the  sword  goes  its  rounds  in  their  cities, 
And  destroys  their  bars  [defenses], 

And  devours  them  for  their  devices. 

7  And  my  people  incline  to  fall  away  from  me ; 6 
They  [the  Prophets]  call  them  (to  look)  upwards, 
All  together  they  refuse  to  raise  themselves. 

8  How  should  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim  ? 
How  should  I  surrender  thee,  Israel  ? 
How  should  I  make  thee  like  Admah, 
Set  thee  like  Zeboim  ? 

My  heart  is  turned  within  me ; 
My  repentings  are  kindled  together. 
)  I  will  not  execute  the  fierceness  of  my  anger, 
I  will  not  again  destroy  Ephraim : 
For  I  am  God  and  not  man ; 


CHAPTER  XI.  1-11. 


85 


In  the  midst  of  thee  is  a  Holy  One, 
And  I  will  not  come  hi  wrath. 

10  They  will  follow  the  Lord  :  N 
Like  a  lion  He  will  roar  ; 

Tea  He  will  roar,  and  children  from  the  sea  will  come  trembling  [hasten^ ; 

11  Will  hasten  like  a  bird  from  Egypt, 
And  like  a  dove  from  Assyria  : 

Then  will  I  make  them  dwell  in  their  houses,  saith  Jehovah. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  3.  —  "VFlbinfi,  from  V^^PI  =  V^f"in,  Hiphil  from  v2")  :  to  make  to  walk,  to  lead,  construed  with  7, 
[Comp.  Jer.  xii.  6  ;  xxii.  15,  and  see  Ewald,  §  122  a,  Green,  §  94  a.  The  corresponding  Syriac  (shargel)  means  :  to  mis- 
lead.—M.] 

2  Ver.  3.  —  Dnp  Instead  of  CFIp  7. 

t  't  t  't  : 

8  Ver.  4.  —  tSMl,  usually  regarded  as  first  fut.  Hiphil,  from  71123,  Instead  of  tSSI  =  and  I  inclined  myself.  Others 
take  it  to  be  an  adverb  :  softly,  gently.  V  vS  would  then  be  best  connected  with  it :  and  gently  towards  them,  I  gav» 
them  food.     bs21S  for  VONN. 

4  Ver.  6.  —  Ttt#Sl  is  adversative.  S^il  emphasizes  Assyria  in  contrast  to  Egypt. 

6  Ver.  7.  —  ^n^ti?^.    The  suffix  is  here  used  in  a  subjective  sense  =  apostasy  from  me. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Ver.  1.  Jehovah  calls  to  mind  the  love  which 
He  had  displayed  to  Israel  ages  before.  But  it  was 
rewarded  with  unfaithfulness,  and  they  must  be 
the  more  severely  punished.  See  Ex.  iv.  22  f.  Is- 
rael was  Jehovah's  first-born  son,  because  they  were 
chosen  as  the  people  of  his  inheritanee.  Hence  the 
love  of  God,  which  redeemed  them  from  Egypt, 
in  order  to  give  to  their  fathers  the  Land  of  Prom- 
ise. On  the  citation  of  this  passage  in  Matt.  ii. 
15  f.,  see  the  Doctrinal  Section. 

Ver.  2.     They  called,  namely,  the  prophets. 

As  the  prophets  called,  so  05)  they  refused  to 
listen  —  turned  away  from  their  (the  prophets') 

faces.  D^v??'  seech,  ii.  15.  [Henderson:  "The 
use  of  the  verb  :  to  call,  in  the  preceding  verse, 
suggested  the  idea  of  the  subsequent  messages 
which  had  been  delivered  to  the  Israelites  by  the 
prophets,  to  which  Hosea  now  appeals,  in  order  to 
contrast  with  the  means  which  had  been  employed 
for  their  reformation,  the  obstinate  character  of 
their  rebellion."  —  M.] 

Ver.  3.  A  further  description  of  the  love  of 
God  displayed  towards  Israel,  chiefly  ia  the  march 
through  the  wilderness.  He  took  them  upon  his 
arms.  The  sudden  transition  to  the  third  person 
is  to  be  explained  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the 
prophet  that  is  speaking  in  the  name  of  Jehovah, 
and  that  this  can  therefore  easily  pass  over  into  a 
discourse  by  Jehovah.  Comp.  Deut.  i.  31 ;  Ex.  xv. 
26,  for  the  same  thoughts. 

Ver.  4.  With  bands  of  a  man  =  such  as  those 
with  which  men,  especially  children,  would  be  led, 
opposed  to  ropes,  with  which  beasts  are  tied,  = 
cords  of  love  in  the  next  hemistich.  "  This  image 
leads  on  to  the  similar  one  of  the  yoke  laid  upon 
cattle  to  yoke  them  in  for  work."  In  this  image 
gentle  treatment  is  implied  ;  for  comparison  is  made 
with  one  who  takes  the  yoke,  or  rather  the  strap 
with  which  it  is  secured,  and  which  passes  through 
the  mouth,  and  draws  it  back  over  the  jaws  so  that 
the  animal  may  eat  conveniently.  Jehovah  in  his 
ionduct  towards  Israel  is  like  such  a  gentle  master. 
Literally  :  I  was  to  them  as  those  who  raise  the 


yoke  over  their  jaws.  But  the  opinion  of  Keil  is 
far-fetched,  who  thinks  that  there  is  a  definite  al- 
lusion to  the  commands  laid  upon  the  people, 
which  God  had  made  light  for  them,  partly  by 
many  displays  of  his  mercy,  and  partly  by  the 
means  of  grace  in  their  religion.  The  tert.  comp. 
is  simply  the  gentleness,  the  kind  consideration 
shown  to  them  in  his  dealings  towards  them. 
[Though,  of  course,  this  general  reference  includes, 
with  other  manifestations  of  kindness,  the  special 
application  made  by  Keil.  For  the  construction 
and  rendering  of  the  last  clause,  see  the  Gram- 
matical Note.  —  M.] 

Ver.  5.  They  shall  not  return  to  the  land  of 
Egypt.  An  apparent  contradiction  of  ch.  viii.  13  ; 
ix.  3.  But,  as  may  be  seen  there,  Egypt  is  in  those 
passages  only  a  type  of  the  land  of  bondage.  But 
here  Egypt  is  employed  in  the  literal  sense,  just  aa 
in  ver.  1,  to  which  our  verse  alludes.  "  The  people 
of  Jehovah  shall  not  return  to  the  land  from  which 
He  called  them,  in  order  that  it  may  not  seem  as 
though  the  design  of  the  exodus  and  the  march 
through  the  desert  were  frustrated  through  their 
impenitence.  Bat  they  shall  enter  into  another 
bondage."     To  return,  namely,  to  Jehovah. 

Ver.  6.  '"'!?tH'  ^'orn  ^'  to  describe  a  circle, 
to  move  in  a  circle,  as  it  were,  to  make  the  rounds ; 
spoken  of  a  sword  =  to  rage.  Trieir  bars,  the 
bars  of  the  strong  cities  =  their  gates.  These  will 
be  destroyed,  and  the  cities  be  captured,  and  laid 
waste.  [Others,  as  Gesenius  and  Cowles,  take  the 
word  in  a  metaphorical  sense,  which  is  frequent : 
rulers,  defenders.  But  the  former  is  preferable,  as 
being  more  directly  connected  with  the  strong  cities. 
E.  V.  adopts  the  first  derived  sense  of  the  word  : 
branches.  Calvin,  following  the  same  view,  inter- 
preted branches  as  =  villages,  the  branches  of  the 
cities.     In  this  he  is  followed  by  Fausset.  — M.] 

Ver.  7  returns  again  to  the  sin  of  the  people. 

Mv/n  is  here  used  intransitively  :    hang  over,  to 

incline.      /3?    '$  '•  above  (comp.  vii.  16).     They 

(the  prophets)  call  them.  DK)Y"1^,  here  probably 
intransitive  (the  strengthened  Kal)  =  raise  them- 
selves, strive  to  rise.     [The  passage  may  be  tbus 


86 


HOSEA. 


paraphrased :  "  My  people  are  bent  on  turning 
away  from  me.  Though  the  prophets  call  upon  them 
to  look  above  (to  the  Most  High),  yet  with  one 
accord  they  refuse  to  raise  themselves  up."  — M.J 
Ver.  8.  Still  Jehovah  cannot  utterly  blot  out 
his  people.  The  love  with  which  He  has  loved 
them  still  endures  and  breaks  forth  strongly.  How 
could  I  give  thee  up,  etc.  This  is  still  at  first  a 
continuation  of  the  threatening.  Chastisement 
even  to  utter  destruction,  is  justified  =  how  I 
should,  how  just  it  would  be  to  give  thee  up  !  But 
with  this  expression  thus  justifying  the  punish- 
ment, the  threatening  is  exhausted  and  satisfied. 
It  is  just  the  contemplation  of  the  great  measure 
of  the  suffering  which  would  really  be  deserved 
which  leads  to  the  feeling  that  such  punishment, 
however  justifiable,  cannot  be  executed,  and  that 
it  shall  be  restrained  =  I  should  do  this,  but  how 
terrible  it  would  be  !  no,  it  cannot  be.  Thus  the 
threatening  having  reached  its  climax,  brings  it- 
self to  its  end.  Others  translate  :  how  should  I? 
=  bow  should  it  be  possible,  that,  etc.  1  =  1  can- 
not do  so.  But  then  there  is  no  transition  from 
ver.  7  to  ver.  8.  [This,  the  most  common  view, 
is  certainly  correct.  There  is  no  need  of  any 
intermediate  words  between  the  threatening  and 
the  relenting.  The  true  theory  with  regard  to 
the  relation  between  God  and  the  people  is  this, 
that  God  must  be  considered  as  all  the  time  melt- 
ing with  love  towards  the  people  whom-  He  must 
reject.  Hence  the  frequent  and  seemingly  unpre- 
pared words  of  promise  in  the  book,  suddenly  ap- 
pearing after  long  denunciations.  No  transition 
is  needed.  It  is  supplied  by  that  constant  yearn- 
ing love  of  which  wrath  and  mercy  are  the  nega- 
tive and  the  positive  poles.  The  other  view  has  to 
encounter  the  very  difficulty  which  it  seeks  to 
obviate.  For  the  transition  would  only  be  more 
abrupt  from  the  justification  of  extreme  punish- 
ment to  its  abandonment ;  and  the  difficulty  is 
greater,  because  such  transition  would  occur  in 
the  middle  of  a  verse,  and  not  with  the  beginning 
of  a  new  one.  —  M.]  Like  Admah,  —  like  Ze- 
boim  :  comp.  Deut.  xxix.  22,  where  these  two  cities 
are  expressly  mentioned,  as  having  been  destroyed 
together  with  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  which  in 
Gen.  xix.  24  stand  alone.  My  heart  is  changed 
within  me  —  so  that  wrath  has  disappeared.   [For 

a  like  use  of  the  preposition  v37>  comp.  Jer.  viii. 
18;  Ps.  xlii.  6,  12;  xliii.  5.  —  M.] 

Ver.  9.  I  will  not  return  to  destroy  Ephrahn. 
"  After  my  heart  has  been  once  changed  with  the 
resolve  not  to  punish,  I  will  not  change  it  again." 
This  is  supported  by  the  consideration  that  God  is 

God  and  not  a  changeable  man.  ""^V?  •  "^ 
is  here  probably  =  glow,  heat  of  wrath.  [E.  V. 
has:  into  the  city,  which  would  have  been  "^373, 
and  which  gives  no  pertinent  sense.  This  render- 
ing is  now  almost  universally  abandoned,  but  it  is, 
ttrange  to  say,  approved  by  Pusey  and  Fausset, 
the  latter  of  whom  speaks  of  the  other  translation 
as  held  "  needlessly."  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.  The  consequence  of  the  Lord's  com- 
passion ;  He  will  call,  and  the  people,  following 
Him,  will  return  home  from  banishment.  They 
shall  go  after  the  Lord.  This  probably  involves 
both  the  changed,  converted  heart,  and  the  walking 
in  God's  ways  thence  resulting.  Will  roar  like 
n  lion.  The  point  of  comparison  is  not  the  terri- 
'ying  influence  of  the  sound,  but  its  extent.  It 
caches  far  and  near.  Thus  must  tbe  cry  be  when 
it  calls  the  people  to  their  restoration.     Or  is  it 


implied  that  these  displays  of  mercy  towards  Israel 
are  coupled  with  judgments  upon  the  heathen  1 
Hosea  does  not  allude  to  this  elsewhere.  Trem- 
bling will  be  a  consequence  of  this  call,  but  it  im- 
plies chiefly  haste  united  with  anxiety  not  to  neg- 
lect the  summons,  and  therefore  the  eagerness 
of  obedience.  Hence  also  the  comparison  with 
birds. 

Ver.  11.  From  the  sea  =  from  the  west,  as 
well  as  from  Egypt  and  Assyria.  The  notion  is  ■ 
from  all  quarters  of  the  earth  (comp.  Is.  xi.  11). 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1.  Israel  became  "  God's  son,"  by  virtue  of  their 
being  chosen  as  God's  peculiar  people,  according 
to  Ex.  iv.  22  f.  The  bestowal  of  this  privilege, 
confirmed  by  the  deliverance  from  Egypt,  and 
sealed  by  the  ratification  at  Sinai,  forms  the  first 
step  in  God's  redemptive  work,  which  is  completed 
by  the  incarnation  of  his  Son  for  the  redemption 
of  the  world.  The  whole  development  and  lead- 
ing of  Israel  as  God's  people  terminate  upon 
Christ  not  as  though  Israel  were  begotten  as  the 
Son  of  God,  but  in  such  a  way  as  that  the  relation 
which  the  Lord  of  Heaven  and  earth  established 
and  preserved  between  Himself  and  this  people 
prepared  and  foreshadowed  the  union  of  God  and 
Man,  and  laid  the  way  for  the  Incarnation  of  his 
Son  by  training  this  people  as  a  vessel  of  the  Di- 
vine mercy.  All  the  important  events  in  Israel's 
history  bore  upon  this,  and  thereby  became  types 
and  actual  prophecies  of  the  life  of  Him,  in  whom 
the  reconciliation  of  God  and  man  should  be  ef- 
fected, and  the  union  of  God  with  the  human  race 
unfold  itself  as  a  Personal  Unity.  In  this  sense  is 
the  second  half  of  ver.  1  quoted  in  Matt.  ii.  15,  as 
a  prophecy  of  Christ  (Keil).  But  here  we  must 
stop.  The  further  remark  of  Keil,  in  justification 
of  the  reference  of  this  passage  to  Christ,  goes  too 
far  and  is  not  direct,  when  he  says  that  it  was  made 
"  because  the  residence  in  Egypt  and  the  leading 
out  from  it  had  the  same  significance  in  the  un- 
folding of  Christ's  life,  as  they  had  for  the  people 
of  Israel.  As  Israel  in  Egypt,  free  from  contact 
with  the  Canaanites,  grew  into  a  nation,  so  was 
the  child  Jesus  concealed  in  Egypt  from  the  en- 
mity of  Herod."  ' 

2.  There  is  here  presented  to  Israel  in  an  affect- 
ing manner  the  love  with  which  God  had  assumed 
the  care  of  them  in  their  beginnings,  "  when  they 
were  still  young,"  and  made  them  what  they  were. 
And  such  love  is  represented  as  being  so  tender, 
all-considerate,  helpful,  and  advancing,  that  it  finds 
its  image  only  in  the  love  of  a  father  or  mother  to 
a  child.  Jehovah  called  Israel  his  son  in  their 
early  days,  when  He  brought  them  out  of  Egypt. 
Ex.  iv.  22  f.  He  had  always  acted  towards  them 
as  became  that  relation,  and  displayed  to  them  the 
love  of  a  father  toward  his  child,  even  his  young- 
est child.  As  Jebovah's  love  and  faithfulness  to 
Israel  in  the  years  of  their  manhood  finds  its  fit- 
ting symbol  only  in  the  love  and  faithfulness  of  a 
husband,  so  his  love  and  care  of  Israel  in  their 
childhood  is  compared  with  the  solicitous,  tender 
love  of  a  father.  So  much  the  more  inexcusable 
then  is  the  conduct  of  Israel  towards  God,  the  op- 
position which  they  displayed  towards  Him  from 
the  beginning.  This  base  ingratitude  character- 
ized them  continually,  and  does  also  in  the  present. 
Their  present  conduct  is  only  the  direct  continua- 
tion of  the  former.  Observe  the  description  of 
such  conduct  of  Israel  toward  their  God  in  ver.  2 


CHAPTER  XI.  1-1 1. 


87 


idolatry  before  the  very  eyes  of  the  God  who  had 
displayed  such  love  to  them  ;  ver.  7  :  failure  to  rec- 
ognize God's  purposes  of  salvation  ;  see  also  vers. 
7,  9.  A  special  proof  of  Jehovah's  love  was  the 
sending  of  the  prophets  ;  they  call  the  people  up- 
wards =  that  they  should  return  to  God,  but  they 
will  not  raise  themselves ;  they  remain  below, 
averse  from  God. 

3.  No  wonder,  therefore,  if  a  people,  who  reward 
so  basely  and  mistake  the  love  of  God,  are  visited 
by  Him  with  the  severest  judgments  (comp.  vers. 
6,  8).  But  retributive  and  punitive  justice  finds 
in  our  Prophet,  as  we  may  satisfy  ourselves  in 
every  chapter,  where  accusation  and  threatening 
are  pealed  forth  incessantly,  such  appalling  expres- 
sion, that  we  can  no  longer  decline  the  question  : 
"Are  not  these  things  spoken  revengefully'?  is  it 
not  a  spirit  of  vindictiveness  that  has  inspired 
>uch  words'?  "  It  cannot  be  claimed  that  human 
revenge  bears  any  part  here,  for  it  is  not  the  offer- 
ing of  personal  injuries  of  which  the  prophet  an- 
nounces the  punishment,  but  he  is  indignant  in 
God's  behalf,  over  Israel's  sins  against  God,  and 
announces  their  punishment.  In  this,  moreover, 
it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  prophet  was  never 
a  mere  passive  organ  fas  the  mechanical  inspira- 
tion theory  would  have  it)  of  the  prophetic  utter- 
ances, that  his  own  faculties  certainly  were  not  at 
the  time  overborne,  but  were  elevated,  and  that 
these  announcements  of  judgment  in  the  midst  of 
a  ruined  generation  are  to  be  regarded  as  energic 
expressions  of  the  life  of  faith,  faith  in  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel.  On  the  other  hand,  the  subjec- 
tivity of  the  prophet  is  not  to  be  unduly  empha- 
sized, as  though  his  purely  human  feelings  and 
emotions  were  really  the  source  of  these  threaten- 
ings.  We  must  hold  to  the  truth  that  the  prophets 
were  heralds  of  that  which  was  revealed  to  them  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  (comp.  ch.  vi.  5),  and  that  their 
separate  efficiency  was  exerted  only  by  completely 
entering  by  faith  into  this  divine  revelation,  in  their 
affirmation  of  it  through  faith.  But  the  question 
then  assumes  this  form :  Though  the  Prophet 
himself  does  not  merit  the  reproach  of  a  selfish 
spirit,  should  not  this  reproach  so  much  the  rather 
fall  upon  God  Himself,  whose  (conscious)  organ 
the  prophet  was  1  But  it  is  evident  that  the  retri- 
bution announced  is  to  be  sent  in  a  spirit  of  strict 
justice;  it  is  to  be  a  punishment  of  sin  justly  de- 
served. The  punishment  is  closely  related  to  the 
sins  rebuked,  and  in  close  connection  with  them ; 
it  is  punishment  and  not  vengeance,  which  usu- 
ally exceeds  the  measure  of  desert.  But  certainly 
we  are  not  merely  to  trace  back  these  threatenings 
to  a  dead  law  of  just  recompense;  the  punishment 
is  not  merely  in  accordance  with  the  moral  order 
of  the  world,  according  to  which  sin  is  followed  by 
its  own  punishment.  It  is  a  personal  action,  as 
certainly  as  the  infliction  and  the  threatenings  pro- 
ceed from  a  personal  God.  And  thus  the  course  of 
action  is  not  and  cannot  be  unaccompanied  by  per- 
sonal "  irados"  or  feeling.  But  this  feeling  is  the 
emotion  of  love,  love  grieved,  vilely  disowned  and  re- 
jected. It  is  true  that  it  must  be  angry,  that  it  can- 
not be  content  without  being  reciprocated,  but  must 
be  most  intimately  stirred  up,  and  the  greater,  the 
more  deeply  seated  it  is,  the  more  it  seeks  the  good 
of  its  object,  the  more  conscious  it  is  that  it  has 
neglected  nothing,  and  has  been  to  blame  in  noth- 
ing. For  this  very  reason  the  punishment  assumes 
the  appearance  of  revenge,  and  even  wears  its  gar- 
ments, while  in  truth  it  is  only  sin  that  is  meeting 
with  its  deserved  punishment  according  to  an  inner 
necessity,  and  not  a?  the  consequence  of  arbitrary 


passion.  And  as  this  love  of  God  is  unselfish  and 
pure  and  seeks  only  the  good  of  its  object,  so  this 
"  revenge  "  of  God  bears,  so  to  speak,  its  correc- 
tive, that  is,  its  aim  in  itself.  The  threatening 
has,  then,  a  fearfully  wide  range,  and  is  uttered 
with  a  violence  which  has  something  painful  in  it, 
since  the  Holy  God,  free,  on  his  part,  from  all 
blame  and  neglect,  appears  against  the  sinner, 
upon  whom  alone  the  responsibility  lies.  But  He 
does  not  simply  display  his  anger ;  He  does  not 
cease  to  love.  His  wrath  does  not  find  its  satisfac- 
tion in  itself  by  the  punishment  or  destruction  of 
the  unfaithful  loved  one.  Actual  destruction, 
which  vengeance  would  demand,  is  never  under- 
taken. In  the  background  of  the  threatenings 
stands  the  full  and  flowing  stream  of  love  in  assur- 
ances of  mercy  and  compassion,  which,  though 
made  in  expectation  that  the  people  will  return, 
are  vet  made  before  such  return  takes  place,  and 
for  the  purpose  of  promoting  that  end.  How  little 
the  Law,  though  proceeding  from  God's  well-inten- 
tioned love  towards  Israel,  realized  its  aim,  is  man- 
ifest ;  Israel  had  completely  broken  the  covenant 
founded  upon  it,  and  instead  of  showing  them- 
selves to  be  worthy  of  the  promises  attached  to  it, 
only  rendered  themselves  amenable  to  the  curse, 
which  they  must  bear  unto  the  uttermost.  Thus 
love  appears  in  the  form  of  free  grace,  compassion- 
ating the  unworthy  and  coming  forth  to  meet 
them,  so  leading  to  the  stand-point  of  the  New 
Covenant.  Hence  all  these  promises,  rising  up  be- 
hind the  severe  threatenings  of  judgment,  are 
rightly  to  be  regarded  as  Messianic,  even  though 
they  are  not  outwardly  marked  as  such.  That  an 
actual  annihilation  of  Israel  is  not  intended,  but 
that  the  prediction  of  punishment  —  thus  reveal- 
ing its  origin  in  pure  love  which  thinks  of  its  ob- 
ject alone,  and  thus  being  distinguished  from  all 
self-avenging —  halts  before  the  last  step  is  reached, 
has  notably  been  clearly  expressed  already  by  the 
Prophet  in  his  reference  to  the  "  remnant "  that  is 
still  left.  It  finds  in  our  chapter  also  its  clear  expres- 
sion in  ver.  8.  Jehovah  could  and  should  give  up 
Israel  like  Admah  and  Zeboim  (not  merely  destroy 
the  kingdom,  deliver  it  over  to  Assyria),  but  He 
will  not  do  so  ;  and  just  when  the  threatening 
reaches  its  height,  the  assurance  of  fullest  mercy 
breaks  forth,  and  is  expressed  beautifully  in  vers. 
8-11.  If  God's  love  in  the  beginning  of  his  inter- 
est in  Israel  was  something  great  and  exalted  (vers. 
1-4),  it  is  something  greater  now,  as  being  in  the 
form  of  compassion  (vers.  9,  10),  in  which  He 
refuses  to  give  up  his  people,  all  unworthy  as  they 
had  become  of  the  love  He  had  shown  them  (comp. 
ver.  11).  A  return  to  Jehovah  is  then  announced 
as  the  fruit  of  this  compassion,  and  the  removal  of 
the  state  of  subjection  to  punishment  by  a  restora- 
tion to  the  inheritance  they  had  trifled  away  is 
promised  as  its  manifestation.  No  further  descrip- 
tion of  the  future  deliverance  is  as  yet  given. 

4.  As  to  the  fulfillment  of  this  promise,  see  the 
remarks  on  chs.  i.  and  ii.  It  may  suffice  to  repeat 
here  that  we  are  not  to  hold  to  any  fulfillment 
which  would  contradict  the  actual  course  of  God's 
revelation.  Hence  we  must  not  think  of  a  future 
return  of  the  external  Israel  into  their  own  land 
from  Assyria,  if  it  were  only  from  the  considera 
tion  that  Assyria  exists  no  longer,  and  Israel  is  no 
longer  in  bondage  to  such  a  nation,  and  we  cannot 
take  the  one  (Israel,  the  Holy  Land,  the  return) 
as  literal,  and  the  other  (Assyria,  captivity)  as  fig- 
urative. We  must  rather  say,  from  the  stand -point 
of  the  fulfillment  of  the  Old  Testament,  i.  e.,  from 
the  stand-point  of  the  New  Testament,  and  in  ac- 


88 


HOSEA. 


cordance  with  the  actual  course  of  events :  the 
compassionate  mercy  of  God  towards  his  faithless 
people,  which  the  Prophet  sees  win  the  victory  over 
wrath,  has  been  revealed  in  Christ  —  but  still  as 
being  far  greater  than  he  sees  it ;  what  is  clear  to 
bim  is  only  the  cricta.  of  that  which  in  Christ  has 
actually  occurred,  and  what  is  still  going  on,  in 
the  forgiveness  of  sin  and  deliverance  from  its 
curse  through  free  grace.  The  Prophet  hopes  for 
this  in  behalf  of  his  people  Israel,  but  only  because 
they  are  God's  people.  But  it  will  be  true  of  all  who 
shall  become  God  s  people  too,  even  though  they 
be  not  of  Israel ;  they  will  experience  this  compas- 
sionate favor  of  God,  which  is  essentially  identical 
with  the  love,  in  which  God  has  chosen  to  Him- 
self a  people  (from  the  nations),  and  completes  it 
so  that  it  realizes  its  purpose  in  spite  of  the  breach 
of  the  covenant  on  the  part  of  men,  manifested  in 
opposition  to  the  Law  and  apostasy  from  God. 
The  voice  of  mercy,  which  shall  resound  so  pow- 
erfully, and  towards  which  those  hasten  who  stand 
under  God's  judgment,  has  reached  far  and  wide 
through  the  Gospel,  and  will  again  be  sounded 
forth,  when  Christ  shall  gather  his  own  from  all 
ends  of  the  earth,  and  portion  out  to  them  the 
everlasting  inheritance  which  they  had  forfeited 
by  sin. 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Ver.  1.  Thou  also  hast  experienced  such  love 
of  God  from  thy  childhood's  years,  in  temporal 
and  yet  more  in  spiritual  things.  This  love  of  God 
is  an  incontestable  truth.  It  is  as  important  as  it 
is  necessary  to  be  reminded  of  it  continually. 

Kiegbr  :  God  delights  to  trace  back  in  his 
Word  and  in  man's  conscience  everything  to  its 
first  beginning. 

[Fausset  :  God,  by  sending  the  Spirit  of  his 
Son  into  the  hearts  of  his  people  (Gal.  iv.  6)  as 
the  spirit  of  adoption,  calls  them  his,  while  they 
are  still  in  the  Egypt  of  this  world.  Indeed  He 
separates  them  to  Himself  from  the  womb,  and 
calls  them  by  his  grace,  as  He  did  Paul  (Gal.  i.  15. 
—  M-l 

Ver.  2.  FiIEGer  :  God  is  ever  calling  men  back 
to  their  first  love :  but  one  goes  to  his  farm,  an- 
other to  his  merchandise,  and  most  to  their  world- 
ly idols. 


Ver.  3.  God's  condescension  to  all  our  needs 
He  knows  our  weakness  and  treats  us  accordingly 
We  must  be  led  along  and  taken  by  the  arm ; 
else  we  do  not  advance,  but  stumble  and  fall  every 
moment. 

Ver.  4.  Starke  :  God  throws  over  us  the 
cords  of  love  even  to  day,  when  He  calls  us  through 
the  preaching  of  his  Word,  gives  us  his  sacra- 
ments, promises  and  supplies  us  with  every  good 
thing,  and  visits  us  with  precious  afflictions  :  so  we 
would  pray  that  God  would  draw  us  further  still 
after  Himself. 

Rieger  :  God  directs  us  according  to  our  weak- 
ness and  the  riches  of  his  love.  And  when  He 
must  press  us  with  a  yoke,  He  gives  us  something 
with  it  that  helps  us  to  bear  it,  and  leaves  us  at 
least  food  and  clothing.  And  He  would  warn  us 
against  falling  back  in  our  pride  upon  our  own 
help,  and  neglecting  to  wait  for  his  counsel.  But  as 
Israel  was  always  inclined  to  turn  ajjain  to  Egypt, 
and  would  seek  help  there  against  God's  judg- 
ments, so  does  self-sufficient  man  always  act,  re- 
sorting to  everything  rather  than  submit  to  the 
counsel  of  God. 

[Fapsskt  :  The  Son  of  God  becomes  man,  in 
order  to  draw  men  as  such  by  the  cords  of  sym- 
pathy, as  partaking  of  a  common  nature  with  us. 
His  bands  of  love  sit  so  lightly  on  those  who  wear 
them  that  they  are  no  hindrance  to  us  in  enjoying 
all  that  is  really  good  for  us,  and  which  God  has  so 
richly  laid  before  us.  —  M.] 

Ver.  7.  We  are  called  upwards  continually : 
and  yet  we  will  not  go!  All  calling  upward  is 
then  in  vain  !  Our  flesh  draws  us  downwards  like 
a  weight  of  lead,  and  neutralizes  the  drawings  of 
the  Spirit  upwards. 

Vers.  8,  9.  Starke  :  God  is  disposed,  when 
angry,  quite  differently  from  men.  Men  are  intent 
upon  vengeance,  but  God  upon  reconciliation. 

Rieger:  The  thought  that  we  have  to  do  with 
God  and  not  with  man,  makes  it  often  difficult  to 
our  terrified  conscience,  to  seek  and  believe  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sins.  But  this  is  merely  a  motive  to 
the  divine  magnanimity  to  bestow  richer  favors 
upon  us. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  Those  who  submit  to  th« 
influence  may  take  the  comfort  of  God's  holi 
ness.l 


B.     SECOND  DISCOURSE. 

Chapters  XII.-XIV. 

I.   Accusation. 


Chapter   XLT. 


Ephraim  has  surrounded  me  with  lies, 

And  the  house  of  Israel  with  deceit : 

And  Judah  still  vacillates  with  God, 

With  the  faithful  holy  One.1 

Ephraim  feeds  upon  the  wind  and  pursues  the  east  wind ; 

Every  day  it  increases  violence  and  lying, 

And  they  make  a  covenant  with  Assyria, 

And  oil  [as  a  gift]  is  carried  to  Egypt. 


CHAPTER  XII.  1-15.  89 


3  Jehovah  has  a  contest  with  Judah 

And  (He  has)  to  punish  Jacob  according  to  his  ways, 
According  to  his  works  he  will  reward  him. 

4  In  the  womb  he  seized  his  brother  by  the  heel, 
And  in  his  (manly)  vigor  he  strove  with  God. 

5  He  wrestled  against  the  angel  and  prevailed, 
He  wept  and  made  supplication  unto  Him : 

He  found  him  in  Bethel  and  then  He  spoke  with  us.* 

6  And  Jehovah,  God  of  Hosts, 
Jehovah  is  his  memorial  (name). 

7  And  thou,  turn  thou  unto  thy  God, 
Observe  mercy  and  justice, 

And  wait  upon  thy  God  continually  ! 

8  Canaan  —  in  his  hand  (are)  the  balances  of  deceit : 
He  loveth  to  oppress. 

9  And  Ephraim  says  :  surely  I  have  become  rich, 
I  have  found  wealth  for  myself, 

All  my  gains  shall  not  discover  transgression  8  in  me, 
Which  (would  be)  sin. 

10  Yet  I,  Jehovah,  am  thy  God, 
From  the  land  of  Egypt, 

Still  I  make  thee  dwell  in  tents, 

As  in  the  day  of  the  Feast  (of  Tabernacles). 

11  And  I  spoke  to  the  prophets, 
And  multiplied  visions, 

And  through  the  prophets  gave  similitudes. 

12  Is  not  Gilead  iniquity  ? 

Surely  they  have  become  wickedness. 
In  Gilgal  they  sacrifice  bulls, 
Their  sacrifices  also  are  like  heaps  * 
On  the  furrows  of  the  field. 

13  And  Jacob  fled  to  the  fields  of  Aram, 

And  Israel  served  for  a  wife,  and  for  a  wife  kept  (sheep). 

14  And  Jehovah  led  Israel  from  Egypt  by  a  prophet, 
And  by  a  prophet  was  it  guarded. 

15  Ephraim  has  provoked  bitter  anger  ; 6 
He  [God]  will6  leave  his  blood  upon  him, 
And  will  return  to  him  his  disgrace. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1.  —  D^l&iTp :  is  an  intensive  plural  [plural  of  majesty],  like  O^H  V.S,  and  therefore  coupled  witii  a  ting. 
adjective  [comp.  Ps.  vii.  '10]. 

p  Ver.  6.  —  ^37237.  Aquila,  Theodotion,  Symmachus,  Syr.  et  al.  render :  with  him,  as  if  they  had  read  *1S3?. 
But  there  is  no  variety  of  reading  in  the  MSS.  For  the  propriety  of  the  reading  in  the  Text.,  comp.  the  Exegetical  Re- 
marks.  —  M.] 

8  Ver.  9.  —  1"\y   is  perhaps  employed  as  a  word-play  upon  the  preceding  ^iS. 
4  Ver.  12.  —  D"*  v>2,  a  word-play  with  b^2. 

*  Ver.  16.  —  D'HTnpJn  is  here  used  as  an  adverb.     [Comp.  Green,  §  274,  2  «. 
[6  Ver.  16.  —  V31S.  is  the  subject  of  W1&  as  well  as  of  2s tt?\  —  M.] 


EXKGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

Ver.  1.  Ephraim  has  surrounded  me  with 
lying.  Israel's  conduct  towards  Jehovah  was  ly- 
infr  and  deceit.  He  reckoned  upon  attachment 
mud  fidelity,  and  might  well  do  so,  as  being  their 


rightful  Lord.  But  instead  of  this  they  turn 
away  from  Him  and  to  idols,  and  seek  help  in  the 
heathen,  and  not  in  God.  They  surrounded  Him : 
it  was  no  isolated  act ;  it  was  the  general  prac- 
tice ;  He  was  treated  so  by  all  Israel.  ""Q.  Tha 
meaning  is  uncertain.     The  wor  J  occnrs  only  be 


90 


HOSEA. 


lides  in  Gen.  xxvii.  40;  Ps.  Iv.  3;  Jer.  ii.  31. 
Probably  =  rove  about,  vacillate,  therefore  :  and 
Judah  vacillates  still  with  God  =  does  not  re- 
main faithful  to  Him.  Others  see  here  rather  a 
commendation  of  Judah,  and  take  "IT"!  =  P~T~), 
to  tread  down,  subdue :  prevails  still  with  God. 
Lowe  accordingly  explains  the  last  hemistich  dif- 
ferently from  the  usual  method.     He  joins  "l^f.l 

also  to  iTTirP,  and  translates  :  faithful  towards 
the  Holy  One.  The  connection  of  the  clauses 
might  justify  such  a  view.  But  such  a  contrast 
between  Judah  and  Ephraim,  in  which  Judah  is 
as  strongly  commended  as  Ephraim  is  accused  of 
unfaithfulness,  is  hardly  suitable  here.  Jehovah 
lias  a  controversy  with  Judah  (ver.  3),  comp.  iv. 
1 ;  not  to  speak  of  the  character  ami  course  of 
conduct  ascribed  to  Judah  in  x.  11  ;  v.  5,  10,  12, 
13,  14.  Judah  is  indeed  differently  characterized 
from  Israel,  but  the  difference  lies  in  the  term: 
vacillate.  It  could  not  be  said  that  the  former 
was  firm  and  faithful.  The  two  words  are  there- 
fore to  be  taken  together  =  the  faithful  holy  One. 
God  is  called  holy  in  strong  contrast  to  the  con- 
duct of  Judah. 

Ver.  2.    ri^n  an  image  of  nothingness,  vanity, 

CH^  •  east  wind,  a  hot  wind  coming  from  the 
Arabian  desert,  which  dries  up  everything  in  its 
course.  [Comp.  Job  xxvii.  21.  See  the  appendix 
to  Delitzsch  on  Job.  —  M.]     As  in  the  ease  of 

n*n>  the  destructive,  and  not  merely  the  unprofit- 
able, is  here  the  tert.  comp.  The  second  member 
thus  probably  contains  an  inference  from  the  first 
=  because  Ephraim  loves  what  is  vain,  it  pursues 
—  certainly  without  meaning  it  —  that  which  en- 
tails destruction.  Lying  and  violence,  probably 
towards  their  neighbors,  especially  if  we  compare 
ver.  7,  where  they  are  admonished  to  preserve 
mercy  and  justice.  Bear  oil  to  Egypt,  namely, 
as  a  gift,  in  order  to  win  the  alliance  of  Egypt ; 
comp.  2  Kings  xvii.  4.  At  one  time  help  is  sought 
in  Egypt  against  Assyria,  and  at  another  in  As- 
syria against  Egypt. 

Ver.  3.  Jehovah,  has  a  contest  =  has  sins  to 
reprove;  comp.  iv.  1.  This  time  the  controversy 
is  with  Judah.  In  distinction  from  Judah,  Jacob 
denotes,  as  in  x.  11,  the  kingdom  of  the  Ten 
Tribes,  Israel.  The  name  Jacob  forms  a  tran- 
sition to  the  allusion  to  the  patriarch  Jacob  (vers. 
4,5). 

Vers.  4,  5.  In  the  womb,  etc.  Jacob  was  to 
be  a  type  of  his  descendants  by  his  struggling  for 
the  birth-right,  and  his  wrestling  with  God  in 
which  he  prevailed  through  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion. That  Jacob's  conduct  is  not  held  up  here 
to  the  people  as  a  warning  example  of  cunning 
and  deceit,  but  as  one  of  earnest  striving  after  the 
birth-right  and  its  blessings,  is  apparent  from  the 
wrestling  with  God  mentioned  in  the  second  mem- 
ber of  the  verse  (comp.  Gen.  xxxii.  23-29).  The 
two  members  of  the  verse  form  a  close  parallel  and 
at  the  same  time  a  climax  —  4  a  :  in  the  womb  ; 
4  6:  in  manhood;  4  a:  but  seizes  the  heel,  a 
secret,  indeed,  not  an  open  struggle  as  was  only 
possible  in  the  womb,  but  4  b:  he  wrestled,  in  the 
full  sense;  4  a:  with  his  brother;  4  6;  with  God. 
There  is  something  also  in  the  two  names  chosen, 
which  also  indicate  a  climax  :  Jacob  from  seizing 
the  heel,  anil  the  more  honored  name  Israel  from 
wrestling  with  God.  The  struggle  with  God  is 
more   particularly  described    in  ver.  5.     God  ap- 


peared to  him  in  the  form  of  an  angel.  -!5->-  "• 
taken  from  Gen.  xxxii.  39.  He  wept  and  prayed 
to  him.  These  words  indicate  the  nature  of  the 
conflict,  the  weapons  with  which  he  conquered. 
At  Bethel  he  found  him.  At  the  very  place 
where  idolatry  and  moral  corruption  prevail,  Jacob 
found  God.  This  shews  the  issue  of  the  conflict, 
and  alludes  to  Gen.  xxxv.  9  fl'.,  where  God  be- 
stowed upon  Jacob  his  name  Israel  and  renewed 
the  promise  of  blessing.  And  then  He  spoke 
with  us,  namely,  with  Jacob ;  what  God  then 
promised  to  Jacob  applies  to  us.  his  children.  The 
mention  of  the  conflict  with  God  and  especially 
its  issue,  in  ver.  5,  show  clearly  that  Jacob  is  not 
here  referred  to  as  a  warning  example  of  deceit, 
but  that  something  typical  is  discovered  in  his  ac- 
tion.    See  the  Doctrinal  remarks. 

Ver.  6  then  more  specially  marks  the  God  who 
spoke,  as  .Jehovah,  God  of  Hosts,  —  scarcely  with- 
out the  design  of  placing  Him,  the  only  true  God, 
in  contrast  to  the  gods  now  worshipped  in  Bethel. 
While  God  is  specially  designated  Jehovah,  in  view 
of  his  revelation  of  Himself  to  Israel,  He  is  called 
"  God  of  Hosts"  to  show  his  supreme  exaltation. 
And  Israel  could  prefer  idols  to  such  a  God  as 
this!  [The  second  member  of  the  verse:  Jeho- 
vah (is)  his  memorial,  means  that  Jehovah  is 
the  name  by  which  Israel  was  to  remember  Him. 
Comp.  Ex.  ail.  15  ;  Ps.  exxxv.  13.  —  M.] 

Ver.  7.  For  this  reason  Ephraim  is  exhorted  to 
return  to  this  God,  an  admonition  further  ex- 
plained in  the  words  which  follow :  observe 
mercy  and  justice,  and  wait  upon  God  continu- 
ally.    Israel  is  now  far  from  doing  this. 

Vers.  8,  9.  This  passage  again  begins  with  a 
description  of  the  sinful  conduct  of  Israel,  which 
is  made  incisively  by  calling  Israel  Canaan,  with 
an  allusion  also  to  the  appellative  signification  of 
the  word  :  merchant.  They  are  like  a  dishonest 
merchant,  who  aims  to  become  rich  by  deceit,  from 
which  results  the  oppression  of  the  poor.  This 
deceit  is  not  to  be  taken  out  of  its  literal  sense,  as 
in  ver.  1  (of  idolatry  as  deceit  practiced  towards 
God),  but  is  according  to  the  context  to  be  under- 
stood literally.  The  very  opposite  is  practiced  of 
that  which  is  required  in  ver.  7,  mercy  and  justice. 

"P^  here  =  means.  27"^  =  the  results  of  labor. 
No  injustice  which  would  be  sin  =  would  en- 
tail punishment.  In  all  his  labor  they  would  not 
be  able  to  discover  anything  worthy  of  punish- 
ment. 

Ver.  10.  God  reminds  the  deluded  and  pre- 
sumptuous Ephraim  (in  order  to  bring  home  to 
it  the  folly  and  injustice  of  its  insolent  speeches), 
how  He  had  been  its  benefactor  since  leaving 
Egypt,  and  had  led  it  hitherto  as  a  Father,  as 
once  He  had  done  in  the  wilderness.  "  Not  merely 
during  the  forty  years  wandering  through  the  des- 
ert had  the  people  enjoyed  the  wondrous  protec- 
tion of  their  God;  even  now — "113? —  they  still 
experienced  his  mercy.  The  expression  '  dwelling 
in  tents '  accordingly  alludes  not  merely  to  the 
privations  and  toils  of  the  temporary  wanderings 
in  the  wilderness,  but  also  specially  to  the  abun- 
dant blessings  of  God  in  the  present  (comp.  2 
Kings  xiii.  5)."  "f?^  =  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 
As  in  the  days  of  the  feast  =  as  the  yearly  dwell- 
ing in  tents  in  a  literal  sense  at  the  Feast  calls  to 
mind  that  protection  afforded  them  in  the  desert. 
Others  take  the  dwelling  in  tents  to  be  a  threat 
But  this  docs  not  suit  the  beginning  of  the  verse 


CHAPTER  XII.  1-15. 


91 


which  is  an  allusion   to  a  deed  of  divine  mercy 
(comp.  xiii.  4). 
Ver.  11  continues  to  call  to  mind  what  God  had 

done  to  Israel.  v37  :  "  because  the  divine  revela- 
tion, descending  from  heaven,  reached  to  the 
prophets"  (Keil).  I  spoke:  probably  a  general 
reference,   specified    in   the   following   clauses.  — 

^^?7^?.:  to  compare,  to  use  figurative  language. 
[Henderson :  "  In  such  language,  including  met- 
aphor, allegory,  comparison,  prosopopoeia,  apos- 
trophe, hyperbole,  etc.,  the  prophets  abound. 
They  accommodated  themselves  to  the  capacity 
and  understanding  of  their  hearers  by  couching 
the  high  and  important  subjects  of  which  they 
treated  under  the  imagery  of  sensible  objects,  and 
invested  them  with  a  degree  of  life  and  energy 
which  could  only  be  resisted  by  an  obstinate  de- 
termination not  to  listen  to  religious  instruction. 
—  M.] 

Ver.  12.  The  intermediate  thought  is  probably  : 
all  was  vain ;  Israel  apostatized  from  his  God. 
Therefore  the  punishment  must  come.  "  Gilead 
and  Gilgal  represented  the  two  parts  of  the  north- 
ern  kingdom.      Gilead    the   eastern,    Gilgal    the 

western."  QW  is  difficult  here.  "  When  "  is  un- 
suitable. Hence  it  is  probably  to  he  taken  as  an 
interrogative  particle  :  Is  not  Gilead,  etc.    Gilead 

is  here  called  ^W,  directly  (vi.  8,  a  city  of  those 
who  work  iniquity) ;  worthlessness,  iniquity.    TJM 

yea,  surely  =  altogether.  S"!t£7  parallel  with  JIN. 
The  moral  ruin  has  its  counterpart  in  the  physical 
=  become  a  nothing,  be  annihilated.  [It  is  better 
to  take  both  words  as  relating  to  moral  corrup- 
tion :  iniquity,  evil.  The  expressions  are  virtu- 
ally synonymous,  and  the  combination  is  inten- 
sive. —  M.]  D^Ttt?,  accusative,  not :  to  the  bulls. 
This  sacrifice  was  no  siu  in  itself,  but  it  was  so  as 
being  done  in  Gilgal  in  honor  of  the  idols.  See 
iv.  15  ;  ix.  15. 

Vers.  13,  14.  The  great  deeds  of  God  for  Israel 
are  once  more  referred  to,  the  ancient  times  being 
again  recalled.  There  is  again  an  allusion  to 
Jacob,  and  as  vers.  4,  5  referred  to  his  actions,  so 
here  we  have  his  misfortunes,  his  humiliation  ;  how 
he  had  to  take  to  flight,  serve  for  a  wife,  and  that 
by  keeping  sheep.  We  are  then  to  supply  :  And 
yet  I  have  guarded  and  blessed  him.  To  this 
then  would  follow  in  ver.  14,  a  farther  example  of 
God's  care.  But  more  probably  ver.  14  is  to  be 
taken  together  with  ver.  13,  and  then  is  seen  in 
that  servitude  of  the  progenitor  the  beginning 
of  the  bondage  of  his  immediate  descendants  in 
Egypt.  The  sense  would  then  be  :  and  how  has 
God  concerned  Himself  for  Israel  (in  the  name  Is- 
rael the  person  of  Jacob  and  the  nation  would  be 
united),  and  defended  them  !  Comp.  Dent.  xxvi. 
5  ff.,  where  the  bondage  in  Egypt  is  connected  im- 
mediately with  Jacob  and  even  with  his  flight  to 
Mesopotamia.  By  a  prophet :  The  greatness  of 
God's  deeds  is  still  more  clearly  shown :  God 
raised  up  and  employed  a  prophet  specially  for 
this  object.     If  vers.  13  and  14  are  taken  together, 

"1^tp3  perhaps  alludes  to  "T?tt7,  ver.  14  ;  from 
protecting  he  came  to  be  protected.  It  is  also  pos- 
sible that  the  second  S^232  forms  a  contrast  to 

the  second  nB?S2,  one  being  a  mark  of  humili- 
ation, the  other  of  exaltation. 
Ver.  15.    Instead  of  acknowledging  what  God 


had  done  to  the  nation,  and  thanking  Him  there- 
for humbly  (which  according   to  Deut.   xxvi.    5 

ff.,  was  to  be  done  by  the  yearly  offering  of  tin 
first-fruits),  Ephraim  bitterly  excited  God's  anger. 

Therefore  the  Lord  would  punish  them.     VQ^  =• 

his  blood-guiltiness.  W^,  to  leave  alone,  opposite 
to  taking  away  or  forgiving.  His  disgrace,  prob- 
ably that  which  Israel  casts  upon  God. 

DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

The  way  in  which  Jacob  is  mentioned  in  this 
chapter  is  peculiar.  In  vers.  4,  5  mention  is  mada 
of  two  events  recorded  in  Genesis  :  that  which, 
according  to  Gen.  xxv.  26,  he  did  iu  seizing  his 
brother's  heel  in  the  womb,  and  that  which,  ac- 
cording to  Gen.  xxxii.  24,  he  did  as  a  man.  These 
two  are  placed  in  mutual  relation  :  and  the  expres- 
sions which  describe  them  are  clearly  parallel. 
Moreover  they  form  a  climax.  They  were  anal- 
ogous ;  but  the  second  was  an  essential  advance 
upon  the  first  (as  really  as  manhood  is  an  advance 
upon  pre-natal  existence).  Hence  the  first  is 
only  briefly  indicated;  forms  only  the  starting- 
point.  The  stress  is  laid  upon  the  second,  upon 
which  the  discourse  dwells  longer  (ver.  5).  If  it 
should  excite  surprise  that  just  these  two  events 
should  be  made  prominent  and  compared  as  they 
are  here,  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  Genesis 
the  two  names  of  the  patriarch  are  said  to  have 
been  connected  with  them,  and  in  such  a  way  as 
that  the  second  is  an  advance  upon  the  first.  Ac- 
cordingly we  can  briefly  indicate  the  meaning  of 
this  reference  to  Jacob  thus  :  He  who  was  a  Jacob 
(holder  of  the  heel)  even  in  his  mother's  womb, 
became  afterwards  in  his  manhood  an  Israel,  a 
wrestler  with  God.  The  former  was,  so  to  speak, 
the  beginning  of  the  latter  ;  the  latter  the  comple- 
tion of  the  former.  The  Prophet  sees  in  the  rec- 
ord of  that  seizing  of  the  heel,  something  signifi- 
cant, namely,  an  allusion  to  the  precedence  which 
Jacob,  although  the  second-bora  KaTCKpvtriv,  should 
have,  by  the  free  elective  favor  of  God,  over  the 
first-born  who  by  nature  had  the  preeminence; 
that  he  received  the  divine  promises,  and  even  that 
the  action  was  regarded  as  an  (unconscious)  striv- 
ing of  the  embryo  itself  after  the  possession  of 
that  which  the  divine  favor  had  in  store  for  it. 
Then  what  the  embryo  did  unconsciously  by 
struggling,  as  it  were,  for  the  possession  of  the  di- 
vine proini.se,  the  man  did  consciously  with  higher 
powers  by  wrestling  with  God  Himself.  The 
Prophet  evidently  regards  the  possession  of  the 
divine  promises  as  the  end  and  object  of  the  con- 
flicts. Having  striven  after  it  in  his  mother's 
womb,  he  gained  it  from  God  as  a  man.  Ver.  5 
shows  how  the  Prophet  understood  this  struggle 
with  God,  or  what  he  regarded  as  its  essence  :  it 
was  humble  but  persistent  supplication,  showing 
how  nearly  the  matter  lay  to  his  heart.  This 
wrestling  in  prayer  had  the  desired  result :  he  pre- 
vailed. The  Prophet  finds  the  proof  of  this  in 
Gen.  xxxv.  9  ff.  For  there  in  Bethel,  Jacob  not 
only  had  his  name  Israel  confirmed,  but  the  prom- 
ise was  given,  which  declared  liim  to  be  the  chosen 
of  God  :  "  He  spoke  with  Him."  But  the  Prophet 
says  :  "  with  us."  This  shows  that  Jacob,  in  vers 
4,  5,  does  not  mean  the  individual,  but  that  the 
Jacob  who  afterwards  proved  himself  an  Israel, 
becomes  an  ideal  personality,  i.  e.,  a  type  of  the 
true  Israel,  the  true  people  of  God.  This  picture 
of  the  true  Jacob-Israel,  struggling  for  the  pos»ei- 


92 


HOSEA. 


lion  of  God's  gracious  promises,  and  therefore  of 
the  divine  blessing,  is  held  up  to  the  shame  of  the 
present  degenerate  Israel,  who  tread  under  foot 
God's  election  of  grace,  and  defy  his  judgments. 
What  a  contrast  does  the  victorious  conflict  with 
God  present  to  the  course  of  Israel  seeking  to  As- 
Byria  and  Egypt  for  help  !  Heuce  the  warning  of 
Ter.  7  :  to  return  to  God  and  to  confide  steadfastly 
in  Him.  Jacob  is  mentioned  in  ver.  13  in  another 
way.  It  is  not  his  conduct  towards  God  that  is 
there  alluded  to,  but  God's  dealings  with  Him  —  in 
raising  him  from  his  humiliation.  And  yet  not 
him  really ;  for  more  clearly  still  than  in  vers.  4, 
5,  the  person  of  Jacob  and  the  people  of  Israel 
flow  into  one  another,  or  rather  the  former  is  a 
type  of  the  latter.  What  is  said  in  ver.  13  of  hu- 
miliation by  flight  and  servitude,  refers  primarily 
to  the  person  of  Jacob,  but  it  is  to  be  understood 
as  that  by  the  person  the  people  proceeding  from 
him  are  thought  of.  So  in  ver.  14,  the  deliverance 
of  Israel  from  Egypt,  and  their  preservation  in  the 
desert,  are  marked  as  the  exaltation  following,  by 
divine  grace,  that  humiliation.  Thus  what  is  here 
said  falls  under  the  point  of  view  elsewhere  held 
by  our  Prophet  of  the  love  which  God  had  shown 
to  Israel  in  ancient  times  (comp.  also  ver.  10), 
with  which  Israel's  present  conduct  is  then  sharply 
contracted  (comp.  ver.  15).  But  it  is  mentioned, 
as  something  special,  that  this  gracious  deed  of 
God  was  brought  about  by  a  prophet.  This  mani- 
festly serves  to  make  it  appear  greater.  God  or- 
dained a  prophet  for  the  special  task  of  helping 
Israel.  In  ver.  11,  also,  Prophecy  appears  as  an 
element  of  God's  gracious  dealings  with  Israel. 
In  vi.  5  prophets  were  distinguished  as  the  preach- 
ers of  repentance  and  judgment  sent  by  God.  In 
our  chapter  they  appear  more  generally,  as  the 
organs  of  God's  revelation  to  Israel,  as  the  tokens 
that  God  stood  constantly  towards  his  people  in  a 
living  relation  (as  already  in  Amos  ii.  11).  The 
sending  of  Moses  falls  under  this  point  of  view  : 
in  him  as  a  Prophet  God  entered  into  a  living  and 
gracious  relation  with  Israel  and  showed  Himself 
to  be  their  God. 


H0SOXETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Ver.  I .  How  sad  it  is  that  God  must  so  com- 
plain of  his  people !  and  yet  how  often  is  it  neces- 
sary !  He  is  faithful  and  true,  so  well  disposed, 
and  we  are  so  insincere  towards  Him  !  pretending 
to  serve  Him,  and  yet  only  serving  Him  with  the 
lips  while  the  heart  is  far  from  Him ! 

Vers.  4,  5.  Stakke  :  God's  blessing  is  to  be 
obtained  not  by  desert,  but  by  weeping  and  en- 
treaty. Tears  and  prayers  are  the  true  method  of 
struggling  with  God. 

Pfapf.  Bibelwerk:  Great  victory  and  blessing 
are  to  be  found  in  prayer;  for  prayer  can  ever 
overcome  God.  Only  struggle  on,  my  soul,  and 
persist  until  thou  dost  reach  to  the  very  heart  of 
God,  and  thou  wilt  certainly  receive  an  answer 
from  Him,  if  not  always  outwardly,  yet  always  in 
the  Spirit. 

[T*.0S8BT  :  Tears  were  the  indication  of  one 
whose  words  of  prayer  were  no  feigned  words,  but 
whose  heart  was  deeply  moved  by  the  sense  of  his 
great  needs,  and  whose  feelings  were  excited  by 
vehement  and  longing  desires.  Therefore  at  Bethel 
"he  found  God,"  because  God  first  "  found  him,"' 
*nd  moved  him  so  to  weep  and  supplicate.     And 


there  God  spake  not  only  with  him  but  "  with  us," 
whosoever  of  us  follow  the  unconquerable  faith  of 
his  tearful  prayers. 

Puset  :  Tiiere  He  spake  with  us,  how,  in  out 
needs,  we  should  seek  and  find  Him.  In  loneli- 
ness, apart  from  distractions,  in  faith  rising  in 
proportion  to  our  fears,  in  persevering  prayer,  in 
earnestness,  God  is  sought  and  found.  —  M.] 

Ver.  6.  In  the  name  Jehovah,  Israel  had  the 
security  that  God  was  their  God,  and  they  his 
people.  "Our  Father"  is  the  same  for  us;  for 
God  is  our  Father  as  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  that  Name  is  the  security  of  our  bless- 
edness. 

Ver.  7.  How  easy  is  conversion,  when  we  are 
not  converted  to  a  strange  God,  but  to  our  own 
God,  who  helps  us  towards  Him !  But  it  is  just 
as  certain  thai  all  who  have  departed  from  God 
need  to  return.  Turn  unto  God  !  is  the  most  nat- 
ural, but  also  the  most  pressing  cry.  True  con- 
version must  be  attested  by  its  fruits.  Men  are 
converted  truly  to  God,  when  they  trust  in  Him 
constantly. 

Lange  :  Faith,  love,  and  hope  must  abide  to- 
gether. 

[Matt.  Henry  :  Let  our  eyes  be  ever  towards 
the  Lord,  and  let  us  preserve  a  holy  security  and 
serenity  of  mind  under  the  protection  of  the  di- 
vine favor,  looking  without  anxiety  for  a  dubious 
event,  and  by  faith  keeping  our  spirits  sedate  and 
even  ;  and  that  is  waiting  on  God  as  our  God,  in 
covenant,  and  this  we  must  do  continually.  —  M.j 

Ver.  8.  The  chief  distinction  of  the  Canaanit- 
ish  character  is  the  earthly  mind,  which  leads  of 
necessity  to  unrighteous  deeds.  Avarice  is  a  root 
of  all  evil,  and  a  mother  of  unrighteousness. 

[Fausset  :  How  much  deceit  is  practiced  by  so- 
called  Christians  of  the  trading  world,  who  are 
"  Christians  "  only  in  name !  —  M.J 

Ver.  9.  Starke  :  Those  who  infer  the  posses- 
sion of  divine  favor  from  outward  prosperity  make 
a  great  mistake.  Much  deceit  and  injustice  is 
done  in  trade  and  intercourse  with  men,  and  when 
God  does  not  punish  at  once,  every  one  supposes 
that  he  who  practices  them  is  not  guilty. 

[Fausset  :  None  are  more  blind  to  their  spir- 
itual danger  than  those  eager  in  pursuing  gain. 
The  conventional  tricks  of  trade  and  the  alleged 
difficulty  of  competing  with  others  save  by  prac- 
ticing the  usual  frauds,  are  made  the  excuses  for 
usages,  which,  whatever  else  they  gain,  end  in  the 
eternal  loss  of  the  soul !  In  regard  to  spiritual 
riches  the  soul  is  never  so  poor  as  when  satisfied 
with  its  own  imaginary  riches.  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.  Starke  :  We  should  diligently  call 
to  mind  and  never  forget  the  benefits  which  God 
bestowed  upon  our  forefathers. 

[PnsEY  :  The  penitent  sees  in  one  glance  how 
God  has  been  his  God  from  his  birth  until  that 
hour,  and  how  he  had  all  along  offended  God'. 
The  Feast  of  Tabernacles  typifies  this  our  pilgrim 
state,  the  life  of  simple  faith  in  God,  for  which 
God  provides ;  poor  in  this  world's  goods,  but 
rich  in  God.  The  Church  militant  dwells,  as  it 
were,  in  tabernacles  ;  hereafter  we  hope  to  be  re- 
ceived into  everlasting  habitations  in  the  Church 
triumphant.  —  M.] 

Ver.  13.  A  man  may  be  chosen  by  God's  grace, 
and  an  heir  of  God's  promises,  and  yet  may  suffei 
distiess  and  humiliation.  In  the  fullest  rneasur* 
was  this  realized  in  the  Son  of  God  Himself.  Whal 
else  then  can  we  expect  ? 


CHAPTER  Xin.  1-15.  93 


IL     The  Judgment  of  God's  Anger, 
Chapter  XIII. 

1  When  Ephraim  spoke,  there  was  trembling ; l 
He  exalted  himself  in  Israel, 

Then  he  transgressed  through  Baal  and  died. 

2  And  now  they  continue  to  sin, 

They  made  for  themselves  idols  of  their  silver, 

Images  according  to  their  understanding  [as  they  pleased] 

All  of  them  the  work  of  artificers  ; 

To  them  men  who  sacrifice  2  are  speaking  (in  prayer), 

They  kiss  the  calves. 

3  Therefore  will  they  be  like  the  morning  cloud, 
And  like  the  dew,  which  soon  passes  away, 

Like  chaff  which  is  whirled 3  out  of  the  threshing-floor, 
And  like  smoke  from  a  window. 

4  And  (yet)  I  am  Jehovah,  thy  God, 
From  the  land  of  Egypt, 

And  thou  dost  not  know  a  God  besides  me, 
And  there  is  no  Saviour  except  me. 

5  I  knew  thee  in  the  desert, 
In  the  land  of  droughts. 

6  According  to  their  pasture  [as  they  fed]  they  were  satisfied) 
They  were  satisfied,  and  their  heart  was  uplifted, 
Therefore  they  forgot  me. 

7  And  (so)  I  became  4  as  a  lion  to  them, 
And  as  a  leopard  I  lurked  in  the  path. 

8  I  will  attack  them  like  a  bear  6  robbed  of  her  whelps, 
And  rend  the  inclosure  of  their  heart, 

I  will  devour  them  then  like  a  lioness ; 
The  wild  beast  of  the  field  shall  rend  them. 

9  It  has  destroyed  thee,6  Israel, 

That  thou  (hast  been)  against  me,  against  thy  Help. 

10  Where 7  then  is  thy  king, 

And  he  (who)  will  help  thee  in  all  thy  cities  ? 
And  thy  judges 8  of  whom  thou  saidst : 
"  Give  me  a  king  and  princes  ?  " 

11  I  give  thee  a  king  in  my  anger, 

And  will  take  him  away  in  my  wrath. 

12  Ephraim's  guilt  is  bound  up, 
His  sin  is  treasured  away. 

13  The  pains  of  a  travailing  woman  shall  come  upon  him : 
(But)  he  is  an  unwise  son  ; 

Because  at  the  (right)  time9  he  would  not  enter  the  opening  of  tie  womb 

14  Should  I  redeem  them  from  the  hand  of  hell  ? 
Should  I  free  them  from  death  ? 

Where  are  thy  plagues,  O  death  ? 
Where  is  thy  destruction,  O  hell  ? 
Repentance  shall  be  hidden  from  my  eyes. 

15  For  (though)  among  (his)  brethren  he  may  be  fruitful,10 
An  east  wind  will  come, 

A  breath  of  Jehovah  rising  from  the  desert, 

And  his  spring  shall  dry  up  and  his  fountain  be  parched ; 

He  [Assyria]  shall  plunder  the  treasure  of  all  the  costly  vessels. 


94 


HOSEA 


TEXTUAL   AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  V«r.  1.  —  firn,  i.w.  Key.  =  tSgTl   [Jer.  xlix.  24.     Targ.   NjTjTI.  —  M.] 

[2  Ver.  2.  —  C~TS  ^n^f-  Tnis  construction  is  to  be  explained  on  the  principle  laid  down  by  Ewald,  §  287  g,  thai 
the  subordinate  word  in  the  construct  may  sometimes  denote  the  individual  or  individuals  of  the  class  denoted  by  the 
principal  word.     For  an  example  of  the  same  construction  in  addition  to  the  one  given  in  the  exposition,  see  Micah  v.  4, 

mS  ",3^D3,  those  of  men  that  are  anointed.  —  M.l 
t  t      ••      •  : '  J 

[3  Ver.  3.  —  ")37D?.      See  Green,  §  92  6.  —  M.] 

[4  Ver.  7.  —  ^HS^.      "1   is  inferential,  Green,  §  287,  1.  —  M.J 

[5  Ver.  8.  —  ^'•T  here  means  the  female  bear,  and  yet,  being  of  the  common  gender,  it  may  be  joined  with  a  part 
masculine.     Comp.  cxliv.  14  for  a  parallel  case.  —  M.] 

[6  Ver.  9.  —  Tjnnt£7.  We  have  here  the  third  sing.  Piel.  There  is  no  ground  for  assuming  a  substantive :  destruc- 
tion, as  Henderson  does.  —  M.] 

7  Ver.  10.  —  "^nS.     A  particle  of  interrogation.     It  is  dialectical,  and  occurs  only  here  and  in  ver.  14.     It  is  = 

n*M  :  where,  and  is  streugthened  by  SIDS  =  tantfewi,  n0Te:  when  then? 

[8  Ver.  10.  —  Supply  >nS   before   TpSSttJ. 

[»  Ver.  13.  —  ST\V  must  be  taken  here  adverbially  :  at  the  (right)  time.  —  M.] 

[10  Ver.  15.  —  S^p^     A  oir.  Aey.     The  form  S*"1D  is  supposed,  with  probable  correctness,  to  have  been  chosen  la- 

ftead  of  the  usual  7T")Q,  in  order  to  conform  to   Q^S^SW,  of  which  it  is  the  root.  —  M.l 
t  t  '  •  t  .  v '  J 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Ver.  1.  "When  Ephraim  spoke,  etc.  An  al- 
lusion to  the  high  respect  paid  to  Israel.  St£?3  is 
here  intransitive  [comp.  Ps.  lxxxix.  10  ;  Nah.  i. 
5].  The  reference  is  to  the  unrighteous  desire  for 
predominance  cherished  by  Ephraim,  which  led  at 
last  to  the  schism  from  the  House  of  David.  But 
internal  declension  was  immediately  connected  with 
this.  The  worship  of  Baal  evidently  began  really 
with  the  calf-worship  according  to  the  view  of  the 
Prophet.  He  cannot  allow  it  to  be  maintained 
that  the  latter  was  the  worship  of  Jehovah.  And 
died :  They  died  spiritually,  and  then  outward 
ruin  comes  also.  [This  view  of  the  whole  verse 
is  approved  by  Henderson,  Pusey,  and  most  recent 
Expositors.  —  M.] 

Ver.  2.  All  their  former  transgressions  were 
continued.    D'HES  DH  Dnb.     This  is  difficult. 

E^W  T3?f  is  not  =  who  sacrifice  men,  for  hu- 
man sacrifices  were  not  offered  in  the  calf-worship, 
but  =  those  among  men  who  sacrifice,  according 

to  the  analogy  of  D}^  ^^  (Is-  xxix.  19). 
Keil  renders  :  of  them  they  say  (those  of  the  men 
that  sacrifice) ;  they  kiss  the  calves.  But  this 
is   linguistically   harsh,    for   "  they  kiss   calves " 

would  be  oratio  obliqua,  and  DH/  would  mean : 
of  them,  namely,  of  the  images.  It  is  besides  un- 
natural. To  whom  should  the  offerers  "  say " 
that  they  kiss  the  calves  ?  They  certainly  per- 
form such  actions,  and  it  is  that  is  the  conduct 
here  rebuked,  but  their  saying  that  they  do  so  is 
a  very  remote  idea.     AVe  are  therefore  obliged  to 

take  D^pS  here  absolutely  as  it  is  nowhere  else 
employed  =  speak  in  prayer.  This  is  just  the 
thought  that  is  suitable  here.  It  had  been  previ- 
ously said  that  these  images  are  purely  the  work 
of  men  themselves,  and  yet  —  how  cutting  is  the 
-eproof!  —  they  speak  with  these  very  works  of 
their  hands,  they  kiss  them,  as  though  they  were 
le&h  and  blood. 
Ver.  3.   The  punishment  of  this  is  swift  destruc- 


tion. As  to  the  figures  of  the  morning  cloud  and 
the  early  dew,  see  on  ch.  vi.  4.  Here  there  are 
added  other  comparisons ;  the  usual  one  of  chaff, 
and,  besides,  that  of  smoke,  which  escaped  by  the 
windows  since  there  were  no  chimneys. 

Vers.  4,  5.  As  contrasted  with  Israel's  idolatry 
Jehovah  points  again  to  what  he  had  done  for  Is- 
rael long  ago,  at  first  with  the  same  words  as 
those  employed  in  xii.  10,  but  afterwards  more 
fully.  I  knew  thee,  with  the  accessory  notions 
of  love  and  compassion. 

Ver.  6.  The  goodness  of  God  is  abused.  Ac- 
cording to  their  pasture,  i.  e.,  in  the  land  given 
them  by  God.  The  complaint  rests  upon  Dent, 
viii.  11  fF.  (comp.  also  xxxi.  20;  xxxii.  15  ff.). 
That  against  which  they  were  there  wrarned,  has 
been  done. 

Vers.  7,  8  therefore  describe  the  punishment,  in 
accordance  with  the  figure  of  the  pasture,  in  which 
Israel  is  the  flock.     The  flock  will  be  rent  as  by 

wild  beasts  (comp.  also,  v.  14).  ^"TT^T,  and  I  be- 
came to  them  :  the  punishment  had  already  begun 
and  would  be  continued.  The  inclosure  of  their 
heart  =  their  breast. 

Ver.  9.  It  has  destroyed  thee,  O  Israel,  that 
thou  wert  against  me,  thy  Help.     The  second 

clause  gives  the  cause  of  the  first.  2  is  then  to 
be  taken  in  the  sense  of  "  against ;  "  that  thou 
against  me,  against  thy  help.  According  to  the 
sequel  the  special  reference  is  to  the  falling:  away 
from  the  House  of  David.  [So  Ewald,  Keil,  and 
most  of  the  recent  Continental  Expositors  agree 
in  adopting  the  above  explanation.  Pusey  and 
Noyes  among  the  Anglo-Americans  also  prefer  it. 
The  others  generally  hold  to  the  rendering  of  the 
E.  V.  The  two  chief  objections  against  the  lat- 
ter view  are  that  it  demands  a  very  roundabout 

rendering  of  ^""intr,  and  that  the  second  2  is 
most  naturally  to  be  taken  in  the  same  sense  as  the 
first,  and  therefore  cannot  be  a  Beth  essentiie. —  M.] 
Ver.  10.  Israel  had  indeed  a  king,  but  not  one 
who  could  help  them,  or  defend  their  cities  (against 
Assyria ).  And  thy  judges,  probably  =  the  princes 
who  surround  the  kin;:,  "the  ministers  and  coun- 


CHAPTER  XIII.  1-15. 


95 


jellors  appointed  by  the  king,  who  along  with  him 
exercise  the  highest  judicial  and  executive  author- 
ity." Give  me  a  king  and  princes ;  not  without 
allusion  to  the  request  of  the  people  in  the  time 
of  Samuel.     On  the  case  of  Jeroboam,  they  re- 

Eeated  this  ancient  demand,  at  that  time  reproved 
y  the  Lord,  in  a  still  more  sinful  way. 

Ver.  11.  I  give  thee  a  king  in  my  anger,  not: 
I  gave  thee,  because  the  expression  is  not  to  be  lim- 
ited to  the  elevation  of  Jeroboam,  but  refers  gen- 
erally to  the  kings  of  Israel.  When  they  separated 
from  the  House  of  David  and  set  up  their  own 
kings,  God  punished  them,  because  in  doing  so 
"  they  forsook  his  worship,  and  gave  themselves 
over  to  the  power  of  their  ungodly  kings."  And 
will  take  him  away.  This  refers  not  merely  to 
the  dethronement  of  one  king  by  another,  but  to 
the  kingdom  generally,  which  God  would  over- 
throw in  his  anger.  The  anger  of  God  stands 
therefore  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  ;  giving 
kings  and  taking  them  away,  are  both  an  evidence 
of  his  displeasure. 

Ver.  12  shows  that  the  taking  away  of  the  king 
is  inevitable  :  "  servata  sunt  ad  vmdictam  omnia  pec- 
cata  eorum  "  [Henderson  :  "  The  metaphors  are  here 
borrowed  from  the  custom  of  tying  up  money  in 
bags  and  depositing  it  in  some  secret  place  in  order 
that  it  might  be  preserved.  The  certainty  of  pun- 
ishment is  the  idea  conveyed  by  them.  Comp.,  for 
the  former,  Job  xiv.  17  ;  tor  the  latter,  Deut.  xxxii. 
34;  Job  xxi.  19."  —  M.J 

Ver.  13  describes  the  punishment  under  the  im- 
age of  birth-pangs,  in  which,  however,  the  pains  of 
the  mother  are  not  so  much  thought  of  as  the  pres- 
sure which  the  child  must  suffer.  And  yet,  though 
there  is  distress  in  child-birth,  it  does  not  tend  to 
destruction,  but  to  birth,  to  a  new  life.  So  also 
here.  But  death  does  follow  if  the  child  is  not 
pressed  out  into  the  vagina  in  consequence  of  the 
labor,  so  as  to  come  into  the  world  alive :  So  is 
it  with  Israel.  Under  God's  judgment  they  put  off 
a  return  to  Him,  and  will  not  be  born  again  ;  that 
judgment  must  therefore  be  their  destruction. 

Ver.  14,  according  to  the  common  view,  intro- 
duces a  promise  without  any  preparation.  Yet, 
though  we  cannot  be  surprised  at  the  occurrence 
of  sudden  transition  in  our  Prophet,  a  promise  is 
evidently  quite  unsuitable.  We  would  from  the 
foregoing  words  rather  expect  a  mention  of  the 
punishment  reserved  for  their  guilt,  or  a  description 
of  their  pains.  It  would  then  be  surprising  if  a 
promise  were  introduced ;  and  the  fact  is  that 
threatening  is  here  unmistakably  becoming  strong- 
er, until  ch.  xiv.  1.  To  be  sure,  if  ver.  14  be  re- 
garded as  a  promise,  ver.  15  must  bear  the  same 
character,  as  they  are  connected  by  "  for."  But 
the  change  would  be  only  the  more  violent,  taking 
place  in  one  and  the  same  verse,  and  Keil  only  im- 
ports his  notion  into  the  passage,  when  he,  fur  this 
reason,  makes  a  distinction,  and  refers  the  begin- 
ning of  the  verse  to  those  who  walk  in  the  foot- 
Bteps  of  the  faith,  etc.,  of  their  progenitor,  and 
the  rest  to  Ephraim  who  had  become  changed  into 
Canaan  [a  merchant].  But,  besides,  the  second 
part  of  ver.  15  manifestly  presupposes  the  begin- 
ning of  the  same  verse,  the  image  of  the  blasting 
wind  presupposing  that  of  the  fruit-bearing,  or  the 
former  is  chosen  with  direct  reference  to  the  latter ; 
the  judgment  is  regarded  as  a  devastation  by 
icorching  wind,  because  Israel  is  conceived  of  as  a 
fruitful  field.  Under  any  other  view  members  of 
i  verse,  which  are  connected  in  meaning,  would  be 
sundered.  If  therefore  ver.  1  5  throughout  is  noth- 
ing hut  threatening,  its  beginning  with  "  for"  ar- 


gues the  same  character  for  ver.  14.  The  begin- 
ning of  ver.  14  is  then  to  be  explained  as  a  ques- 
tion,  though  without  the  particle  of  interrogation* 
Erom  the  hand  of  hell  should  I  deliver  them  "i  Tha 
second  member  contains  an  energetic  negative  re- 
sponse. Nay,  even  death  and  hell  are  summoned 
and  charged  to  inflict  and  execute  the  judgment 

upon  them.  TN??  as  in  ver.  10  =  where  (see  far- 
ther in  the  Doctrinal  Section,  No.  4). 

2rt3  :  either  repentance  or  compassion.  The 
former  is  most  suitable :  it  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  I  repent  of  this  threatening,  that  I  recall  it. 

Ver.  15.  3T  S-1H  "'S  alludes,  with  a  play  upon 
the  name  Ephraim  (WH?-  and  lTS?3S),  to  tnc-r 
fruitfulness,  in  order  to  represent  the  judgment  as 
a  scorching  wind  destroying  that  fertility.  He 
will  spoil.  "  He,"  i.  e.,  the  enemy  presented  under 
the  image  of  the  parching  wind,  Assyria.  The 
treasure  of  all  precious  vessels,  is  to  be  sought 
especially  in  the  chief  city,  Samaria,  which  is 
named  immediately  hereafter. 

DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1 .  Apostasy  from  Jehovah,  which  appears  here 
also  as  Israel's  chief  sin,  brought  death  upon 
them  :  they  died  (ver.  1).  This  conception  sounds 
the  depths  of  the  subject.  Outwardly  regarded, 
they  lived  long,  even  after  they  gave  themselves 
up  to  the  worship  of  Baal  (just  like  a  fruitful  tree, 
ver.  15),  but  in  truth  inwardly  they  were  dead. 
For  true  life  consists  in  union  with  Jehovah  :  idols 
can  give  no  life.  Israel  owed  its  life  to  Jehovah 
alone  (ver.  4).  Therefore,  ver.  9  :  "It  has  destroyed 
thee  that  thou  hast  been  against  me,  thy  help." 
What  God  had  done  for  Israel  from  the  beginning 
is  here  again  (vers.  4,  5)  made  prominent,  and  the 
deliverance  from  Egypt  with  the  leading  through 
the  Desert  appear  again  as  the  fundamental  act  or 
mercy,  for  through  them  Israel  became  "living." 
Their  present  conduct  towards  God  was  a  base  and 
ungrateful  ignoring  of  those  deeds  in  the  presump- 
tion of  a  prosperity  which  they  owed  to  their  God 
(ver.  6).  A  people  who  are  inwardly  dead  cannot 
long  outwardly  survive.  That  God  whom  they  had 
forgotten  and  from  whom  they  had  turned  away, 
would  and  must  at  last  show  them  that  He  had 
not  forgotten  them  (ver.  12)  by  destroying  them 
without  sparing.  This  is  indeed  the  only  means 
of  bringing  them  to  lite.  Eur  that  and  that  alone 
is  designed  by  God  in  their  ease  ;  see  eh.  xiv.  This 
must  ever  be  kept  in  view  if  we  are  to  understand 
the  threatenings  aright,  which  are  reproduced  here 
in  a  peculiarly  intensified  form  :  vers.  7,  8,  vers.  12 
to  eh.  xiv.  1.  But  how  true  and  striking  is  such 
a  description  seen  to  be,  when  we  remember  that 
this  divine  judgment  is  executed  by  the  invasion 
of  a  foreign  conqueror !  With  what  cau  his  attack 
be  better  compared  than  with  the  attack  of  devour- 
ing beasts,  or,  after  another  image,  with  a  scorch- 
ing wind  that  destroys  everything  in  its  course? 
How  often  has  that  been  repeated  in  the  history  of 
the  nations ! 

2.  The  whole  (temporal)  kingdom  was  a  divine 
system  of  punishment  and  chastening.  At  the  re> 
quest  of  the  people,  He  granted  them  a  king,  bu/ 
with  the  expression  of  his  displeasure  at  their  de- 
sire because  it  proceeded  from  unbelief  and  vanity, 
and  with  the  declaration  that  they  would  lose  their 
freedom  by  its  realization.  But,  at  the  same  time, 
this  kingdom  of  Israel  might  become  a  blessing  if 


m 


HOSEA. 


it  with  its  king  would  obey  God.  Nay,  God,  by 
tstablishing  the  throne  of  David  in  Zion,  even  con- 
nected the  most  precious  promises  with  this  king- 
dom, if  the  king  were  entirely  one  with  God  and 
should  gather  about  him  a  nation  obedient  to  God. 
But  the  people  with  their  king  followed  more  and 
more  decidedly  a  course  opposed  to  God  by  sep- 
arating (in  the  kingdom  of  the  Ten  Tribes)  from 
the  house  with  which  God  had  connected  his  prom- 
ises, and  so  forsaking  the  king  which  God  had 
given  them,  they  must  therefore  be  punished  by 
having  this  self-erected  kingdom  taken  away,  and 
the  punishment  is  all  the  greater  that  they  shall 
never  return  to  a  state  of  freedom,  but  must  lie  un- 
der the  much  viler  bondage  of  foreign  rulers  until 
they  return  to  the  king  whom  God  had  promised 
to  raise  up  from  the  House  of  David. 

3.  The  passage  in  ver.  14  is  and  remains  diffi- 
cult, and,  although  in  the  light  of  the  context  we 
cannot  regard  it  as  containing  a  promise,  yet  the 
view  which  regards  it  as  such  is  in  so  far  to  be 
respected  as  the  beginning  of  the  verse  especial- 
ly, taken  by  itself,  makes  it  appear  natural.  For 
this  reason,  probably,  the  LXX.  translate  in  this 
sense,  and  the  Apostle  Paul,  freely  following  them, 
cites  these  words  (in  connection  with  Is.  xxv.  8  ; 
1  Cor.  xv.  55),  in  the  sense  of  a  challenge  indeed, 
but  in  the  same  with  the  implication  that  death 
and  hell  should  reveal  their  impotence,  and  there- 
fore in  the  sense  of  a  promise.  But  this  will  not 
compel  ns  to  explain  the  words  otherwise  than  as 
the  context  requires,  and  we  find  this  in  accord 
ith  any  but  the  simply  mechanical  theory  of  in- 
spiration. But  it  is  still  to  be  kept  in  mind  that 
in  one  passage  the  possibility  of  a  redemption  from 
ieath  and  hell  is  presupposed  even  if  its  accom- 
plishment is  refused  by  the  threatening.  But  it 
corresponds  with  the  character  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment that  it  has  changed  the  threatening  into  a 
promise.  While  the  Old  Testament  summons 
death  and  the  underworld  to  execute  judgment 
upon  their  servants,  the  New  Testament  rather 
shows  them  conquered  and  powerless,  so  much  so 
that  they  must  even  yield  up  the  prey  which  they 
already  have,  and  so  far  Paul  had  internal  justifi- 
cation to  convert  the  Old  Testament  threatening 
into  a  promise,  or  rather  into  a  pasan  of  triumph, 
and  thus  in  the  Spirit  chose  the  true  course.  For 
the  view  of  ver.  14  as  containing  a  promise,  we  may 
cite  further  the  beautiful  remarks  of  Rieger: 
"  Outward  ruin  becomes  to  many  a  path  upon 
which  they  rush  suddenly  down  to  death  and  hell, 
and  with  their  hardened  hearts  they  prefer  to  be 
lost  beyond  redemption  in  death  and  hell  rather 
than  turn  to  God  with  contrite  hearts,  and  yield 
themselves  up  to  trust  in  Him.  Therefore  God's 
promise  comprehends  the  whole  ruin,  the  whole 
abyss  of  destruction  into  which  the  sinner  rushes, 
60  as  to  subdue  proud  unbelief  by  the  promised 
redemption  from  death  and  hell,  and  make  men 
driven  to  extremity  well  disposed  towards  God. 
O,  that  all  to  whom  sin  has  become  their  destruc- 
tion would  allow  themselves  to  be  rescued  by  this 
hand  offered  them  at  the  brink  of  death  and  hell, 
especially  as  we  can  behold  more  fully  in  the  New 
Testameut  the  victory  which  God  has  given  us 
through  Christ  Jesus,  and  thus  more  easily  gain 
its  consolation." 


HOMTLETTCAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Ver.  1.     Gerlach:  Pride  comes  before  a  fall. 
Bee  how  the  sins  of  pride  and  false  worship  lead 


to  spiritual  and  eternal  death  !  With  sin  there 
came  not  only  guilt  but  also  the  seeds  of  death, 
and  so  the  heart  and  life-blood  are  consumed.  On 
the  other  hand,  with  the  new  righteousness  comes 
new  life  into  dead  souls. 

[Fausset  :  Sin  separates  from  God,  the  true 
life  of  the  soul.  Let  all  professors  of  religion  ever 
remember  this,  that  sin,  habitual  or  unatoned 
for,  and  spiritual  life  cannot  coexist  in  the  same 
individual  (Rom.  viii.  6). — M.] 

Ver.  4.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  Since  God  haa 
showered  down  upon  us  so  many  blessings  from 
our  youth  up,  and  since  all  that  we  have  we  owe 
to  his  goodness,  it  is  vile  ingratitude  to  rely,  not 
upon  Him,  but  upon  human  power,  false  wor- 
ship, and  the  like.  We  have  only  one  God  and 
Redeemer.     Besides  Him  we  must  know  no  other. 

[Matthew  Henkt  :  It  is  a  happy  ignorance 
not  to  know  that  which  we  are  not  to  meddle  with. 
Whatever  we  take  for  our  God  we  expect  to  have 
for  our  Saviour,  that  is,  to  make  us  happy  here  and 
hereafter.  As  where  we  have  protection  we  owe 
allegiance,  so  where  we  have  salvation,  and  hope 
for  it,  we  owe  adoration."  —  M.j 

Ver.  6.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk :  So  is  it  with  the 
ungodly.  They  misuse  God's  blessings  and  be- 
come secure,  forgetting  the  gracious  Giver,  when 
they  should  rather  erect  an  imperishable  monu- 
ment to  Him  in  their  souls.  See  thou,  too,  0  my 
soul !  whether  thou  art  thankful  to  thy  Saviour, 
whether  thou  dost  bring  home  to  thyself  rightly 
and  constantly  the  blessings  which  God  has  given 
thee,  both  temporal  and  spiritual,  whether  thou 
dost  praise  and  live  for  the  gracious  Giver  with 
mouth  and  heart  and  a  holy  walk. 

[Puset  :  They  who  follow  God  for  Himself, 
things  of  this  sort  are  not  called  their  pasture,  but 
the  Word  of  God  is  their  pasture,  according  to 
Deut.  viii.  3.  In  like  way,  let  all  think  themselves 
blamed,  who  attend  the  altar  of  Christ  not  for  the 
love  of  the  sacraments  [ordinances]  which  they 
celebrate,  but  only  to  live  of  the  altar.  —  M.] 

Ver.  9.  It  is  the  conduct  of  men  towards  God 
which  determines  their  woe  or  weal.  God  alone  is 
our  true  Help ;  therefore  everything  that  resists 
Him  must  be  lost ;  and  there  is  no  greater  folly 
than  to  rise  up  against  Him. 

Pfaff.  Bibelwerk :  God  is  guilty  of  no  man's 
destruction,  but  only  man  himself. 

Ver.  11.  Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  It  is  a  great  cal- 
lamity  to  a  country  when  the  Lord  gives  it  a 
prince  in  his  anger  that  he  may  be  the  instrument 
of  his  vengeance. 

[Fatj88et  :  God  often  punishes  men  by  giving 
them  their  wish.  —  M.] 

Ver.  12.  God  can  and  would  remit  our  sins ;  but 
He  can  also  retain  them,  and  must  do  so  as  long  as 
we  remain  impenitent ;  and  as  long  as  God  retains 
them  all  hope  of  being  freed  from  them  is  vain. 

Ver.  14.  So  far  can  the  love  of  God  be  changed 
into  wrath  that  He,  to  whom  it  were  easy  to  save, 
does  not  do  so,  but  delivers  over  to  death  and  de- 
struction, nay,  even,  as  it  were,  invokes  the  powers 
of  destruction  to  execute  his  wrath,  without  his 
repenting  or  recalling  his  purpose.  Even  in  this 
God  has  assuredly  purposes  of  salvation.  He  pun- 
ishes so  severely  only  to  open  the  eyes,  when  and 
since  all  other  means  have  failed.  [See  the  Exe- 
getical  and  Doctrinal  Remarks.  —  M.] 

Ver.  15.  When  God  withdraws  his  hand  all 
prosperity  disappears,  and  that  often  suddenly,  be- 
fore men  are  aware. 

[Matthew  Henry  :  See  the  folly  of  those  thai 
lay  up  their  treasures  on  earth,  that  lay  it  up  in 


CHAPTER  XIV.  1-10.  97 


pleasant  vessels,  vessels  of  desire,  so  the  word  is, 
on  which  they  set  their  affections,  and  in  which 
they  place  their  comfort  and  satisfaction. 


Pusey  :  Such  are  ungodly  greatness  and  pros- 
perity. While  they  are  fairest  in  show  theil 
life-fountains  are  drying  up  —  M.J. 


TIT.  Exhortation  to  Return :  Promise  of  Complete  Redemption, 
Chapter  XIV. 

1  Samaria  will  suffer  punishment,1 
Because  she  rebelled  against  her  God  ; 
They  shall  fall  by  the  sword, 

Their  sucklings  shall  be  dashed  to  pieces, 
Their  pregnant  women  3  shall  be  cut  open. 

2  Return,  O  Israel,  to  Jehovah,  thy  God, 

For  thou  hast  fallen  through  thy  transgression. 

3  Take  with  you  words 

And  return  to  the  Lord  and  say  unto  Him  : 

"  Forgive  all  (our)  iniquity  8  and  receive  (what  is)  good  [acceptable], 

And  we  shall  render  unto  thee  our  lips  (as)  oxen  [as  our  sacrifice*]. 

4  Assyria  shall  not  help  us, 
We  will  not  ride  upon  horses, 

We  will  no  more  say :  our  God,  to  the  work  of  our  hands, 
(O  Thou)  in  whom  the  orphan  finds  pity : " 

5  I  will  heal  their  backsliding ; 
I  will  love  them  readily,4 

For  my  anger  is  turned  away  from  them. 

6  I  will  be  as  the  dew  to  Israel : 
He  shall  bloom  as  the  lily, 

And  shall  strike  his  roots  like  Lebanon ! 8 

7  His  shoots  shall  go  forth, 

And  his  glory  shall  be  like  the  olive, 
And  his  fragrance  like  Lebanon  ! 

8  Those  that  dwell  under  his  shade  shall  revive  [produce]  corn  once  more. 
And  shall  bloom  as  the  vine, 

His  renown  (shall  be)  like  the  wine  of  Lebanon. 

9  O  Ephraim,  what  have  I  to  do  any  longer  with  idols  ? 
I  answer  and  regard  [watch  over]  him. 

I  am  like  a  green  cypress ; 
With  me  is  thy  fruit  found. 

10  Who  is  wise,  that  he  may  understand  these  things? 
Discerning,  that  he  may  know  them? 
For  the  ways  of  the  Lord  are  direct, 
And  the  righteous  walk  in  them ; 
But  transgressors  stumble  thereon. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 
1  Ver.  1.  —  DttN^FI.  From  the  notion  of  suffering  punishment  is  derived  the  signification:  to  be  desolated,  waste 
■»  — U3U7.  [The  reverse  would  be  the  order  if  any  connection  between  the  verbs  existed.  But  there  is  none  what- 
»ver."  The  latter  meaning  in  all  likelihood  arose  from  the  similarity  in  form  between  the  two  words,  the  one  form  nat- 
urally suggesting  the  other.  But  it  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  this  that  the  words  are  cognate.  The  roots  are  not 
at  all  related,  but  belong  to  femilies  essentially  distinct.  Fiirst,  however,  holds  to  the  affinity.  But  see  the  forms  in 
Arabic  and  Ethiopic  related  to  Dli7S,  and  compare  the  radically  different  notions  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  their  pre 
vailing  significations  respectively.  —  M.] 


.98 


HO  SEA. 


•  Ver.  1.  —  n^Tin  =  mn,      The  masc.  verb,  with  a  fern,  substantive  is  anomalous.     According  to  Ewald  it  is  to 

T  •   T  T    T 

»e  explained  from  the  fact  that  the  fern,  terminations  of  the  plur.  imperf.  are  but  seldom  employed.  [The  suggestion  of 
•enderson  is  worthy  of  consideration,  that  the  anomaly  was  occasioned  by  the  form  of  ^IfiS""^  immediately  pre> 
•ding. -M.J 

•  Ver.  8. —  T137   NUWvS.     v3  precedes  for  the  sake  of  emphasis,  and  becomes  an  adverbial  notion   [=take 

1     T  T     •  T  T 

*ay  oui  iniquity  altogether.] 

•  Ver.  i.  —  H31]  is  an  adverbial  accusative  [spontaneously,  voluntarily,  readily]. 

6  Ver.  6.  — Newcome  prefers  to  read  (7312  V,  as  more  consistent  with  the  context.     But  this  cannot  be  admitted 
t«#ngh  Ik  tm  the  one  followed  by  the  Targum.'     See  the  exposition  for  the  propriety  of  the  image.  —  M.] 


EXEGETIOAL  AND  CBH3CAL. 

Ver.  1.     Samaria  shall  make  expiation,  etc. 

Dt£?S.Fl,  from  Ctt?S,  to  make  atonement,  to  suffer 

fmnishment.  [Rendered  in  E.  V. :  shall  be  deso- 
ate,  comp.  the  remarks  in  the  Text,  and  Gram. 
Section. —  M.]  It  is  unnecessary  to  join  this 
verse  to  ch.  xiii.,  although  it  is  naturally  con- 
nected with  it.  The  foregoing  threatenings  con- 
verge here  first  into  the  prophecy  "concerning  the 
destruction  of  Samaria  because  of  its  apostasy 
from  its  God,"  and  then  upon  this  groundwork  is 
based  the  exhortation  to  return,  and  the  promise 
of  renewed  mercy  conditioned  upon  repentance. 
[Henderson  :  "  For  the  concluding  portion  of  the 
verse,  comp.  2  Kings  viii.  12  ;  xv.  16  ;  Amos  i.  13. 
That  such  cruelties  were  not  unknown  among 
other  nations,  see  Iliad,  vi.  58,  and  Horace,  Carm. 
iv.  Od.  6."  — M.] 

Ver.  2.  niiT  137,  even  unto  Jehovah  [liter- 
ally :   until,  as  far  as,  tmto  Jehovah.  —  M.] 

Ver.  3.  Take  with  you  words  :  They  are  not 
to  come  to  Jehovah  empty,  but  at  the  same  time 
need  take  nothing  more  than  words,  no  outward 
gifts.    The  words  they  are  to  use  are  now  named, 

D"ito  nj21  :  and  accept  good,  namely,  what  now 
follows  :  the  sacrifices  of  the  lips.  [The  true  idea 
of  the  phrase  seems  to  be :  receive  what  is  good, 
pleasing,  acceptable.  For  this  sense  of  31TD,  comp. 
Num.  xxiv.  1  ;  Deut.  vi.  18.  I  find  the  meaning 
of  the  passage  admirably  expressed  by  Ewald: 
"  The  people  must  first  return  to  God's  love.  The 
Prophet  does  not  merely  exhort  them  to  this 
course;  he  shows  them  also  in  what  manner  it 
should  be  made  ;  how  and  in  what  spirit  the  peni- 
tent are  again  to  draw  near  to  God's  favor  ;  name- 
ly, not  with  outward,  even  though  imposing;  sac- 
rifices, with  bulls,  e.  g.,  but  with  words,  with  the 
:ips,  i.  e.,  with  the  living  promises  of  the  spirit 
that  struggles  after  mercy  and  offers  what  is  good." 
The  English  expositors  have,  for  the  most  part, 
followed  the  rendering  of  E.  V. :  and  receive  us 
graciously.  Horsley  (who  is  strangely  opposed 
by  Henderson  "  on  the  ground  of  philology  ")  and 
Pusey  recognize  and  adopt  the  natural  and  true 
construction.  —  M.j  Literally:  and  we  will  ren- 
der as  bullocks  our  lips,  i.  e.,  we  will  offer  to  thee 
for  our  sins  the  confession  of  our  guilt  and  the 
promise  of  our  return  instead  of  sacrificial  oxen 
(comp.  Ps.  li.  17-19;  lxix.  31  f.  ;  cxvi.  17;  cxli. 

Ver.  4  follows  immediately  with  9uch  a  vow,  no 
longer  to  rely  upon  Assyria,  no  longer  upon  war- 
like power  (horses)  generally,  no  longer  to  serve 

idols.     ^J3    "•t?'^  :    Thou,   through   whom,   etc. 
Reliance   upon    God's   compassion   is   that   upon 
Khich  the  whole  prayer  of  penitence  is  based. 
Ver.  f>.     The  promise  of  mercy  follows  as  an 


answer  to  such  a  prayer  of  penitence.  Heal  their 
apostasy  =  the  calamities  which  it  has  entailed. 

rt2"l?  [spontaneously]  expresses  God's  perfect 
readiness  to  bestow  such  love. 

Vers.  6  ff.  The  effects  of  this  love  of  the  Lord 
are  rich  blessings  upon  Israel :  Jehovah  Himself 
will  become  to  Israel  like  a  refreshing  dew,  and 
the  consequences  of  this  would  be  that  they  should 
bloom  and  strike  root  and  send  forth  branches,  or 
that  they  should  flourish  and  develop  a  vigorous 
life.  Like  Lebanon,  not  simply  like  the  cedars, 
but  like  the  mountain  itself,  rooted  as  deeply  ami 
firmly.  Like  the  olive  [ver.  7]  with  its  evergreen 
leaves  and  rich  fruitage.  His  fragrance  like  Leb- 
anon with  its  cedars  and  aromatic  shrubs. 

Ver.  8.  Here  from  Israel  as  a  whole,  compared 
to  a  tree,  are  distinguished  the  members  of  the 
people,  as  those  who  flourish  vigorously  beneath 

the  shadow  of  the  tree.  ^^tE^  is  to  be  joined 
with  "VrP  in  an  adverbial  sense  =  again.  The 
latter  word  =  live  again,  become  fruitful.  They 
themselves  shall  even  become  like  a  vine,  produ- 
cing wine  as  precious  as  that  of  Lebanon.  O 
Ephraim  !  what  have  I  still  to  do  with  idols  ? 
=  I  will  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  idols,  i.  e., 
"I  have  now  no  longer  to  plead  with  thee  on  ac- 
count of  idols,  as  during  the  whole  course  of  this 
prophecy  Jehovah's  claims  to  honor  as  against 
idols  have  formed  the  predominant  theme.  This 
is  all  done  away  upon  the  ground  on  which  this 
promise  rests,  that  Israel  has  returned  to  tne 
Lord"  (Schmieder).  I  have  answered  and  will 
regard  him  (Ephraim)  =  will  concern  myself, 
care  for  him.  God  lastly  compares  Himself  to  a 
green  cypress.  In  Him  the  people  are  to  find 
their  fruit,  i.  e.,  the  fruit  which  shall  nourish  them. 
[  1  he  English  expositors,  generally,  adopt  the  ren- 
dering of  the  E.  V.,  chiefly  because  the  words  of 
the  first  line  do  not  seem  to  them  suitable  as  ut- 
tered by  God.  But  if  they  are  held  to  assert  that 
God  would  not  have  anything  more  to  do  with 
idols,  would  not  come  any  longer  into  competition 
with  idols  for  the  affections  of  the  people  and  so  be 
brought  into  connection  with  them,  they  are  seen 
to  be  suitable,  and  just  what  would  be  expected  at 
the  close  of  this  book.  And  it  would  be  altogether 
unnatural  to  introduce  Ephraim  as  uttering  this 
single  exclamation  in  the  midst  of  an  extended 
passage  in  which  God  is  the  speaker.  Finally,  it 
is  a  most  arbitrary  principle  which  would  require 
the  insertion  of  the  supplied  words,  or  of  any  other, 
in  a  sentence  in  which  the  sense  would  be  complete 
without  an  ellipsis.  Manger  carries  such  an  un- 
warranted license  to  an  extreme  when  he  supposes 
that  the  whole  verse  forms  a  sort  of  dialogue, 
thus : — 

Ephraim  :  What  have  I  more  to. do  witn  idols? 
God  :  I  have  answered  lim  and  will  regard  hill 
Ephuaim  :  I  am  like  a  green  cypress. 


CHAPTER  XIV.  1-10. 


99 


God:  From  me  is  thy  fruit  found. 

Upon  this  it  is  obvious  to  remark,  that  if  the 
?erse  is  a  dialogue,  and  it  were  necessary  to  indi- 
cate who  the  speaker  is  in  his  first  utterance,  it 
would  be  just  as  necessary  to  give  a  similar  intima- 
tion at  the  beginning  of  his  next  response.  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.  "Who  is  wise,  etc.  An  epilogue  to 
the  whole  Prophetic  Book.  H-. S  refers  to  all  that 
precedes,  to  the  chidings  and  threatenings  concern- 
ing sin  and  idolatry.  For  right  are  the  ways  of 
the  Lord.  This  the  crowning  declaration,  comp. 
Dent,  xxxii.  4.  The  ways  which  God  is  said  to 
follow  are  straight,  i.  e.,  direct,  leading  to  the  ob- 
ject. The  righteous  walk  upon  them,  and  are 
thereby  righteous.  But  transgressors  stumble 
thereon,  i.  e.,  they  deviate  from  them,  and  are 
thereby  transgressors,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
consequences  of  such  deviation  are  recorded  :  they 
fall  into  ruin. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHTOAL. 

1.  It  is  clearly  manifest  here  that  the  severe 
judgments  announced  as  impending  upon  the 
kingdom  of  Israel  have  not  their  object  in  them- 
selves, but  are  only  means  to  an  end.  The  king- 
dom in  its  present  form  must  assuredly  be  de- 
stroyed, for  it  is  utterly  corrupt.  But  this  is  not 
to  be  done  because  God  has  turned  Himself  away 
from  his  people  or  desired  to  do  so,  or  because  his 
love  for  them  is  extinguished,  but  only  because  it 
is  the  only  means  of  making  room  for  something 
new,  for  the  regeneration  of  his  people. 

2.  Repentance,  a  return  to  God  who  had  been 
forsaken,  is  to  be  the  fruit  of  these  judgments 
(comp.  ch.  ii.  18,  19),  because  it  was  their  only  de- 
sign to  lead  to  repentance,  to  make  its  necessity 
clear  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  to  prepare 
them  for  it  through  the  severity  of  the  wrath  of 
God  which  they  experienced,  through  their  condi- 
tion as  "  orphans"  (ver.  4).  The  essential  element 
of  such  a  return  was  the  prayer  for  forgiveness  of 
guilt,  involving  both  confession  of  and  sorrow  for 
sin,  and  in  connection  therewith  the  vow  of  a 
change  of  life.  Rieger  :  "  When  the  sinner  re- 
solves to  return  unto  the  Lord,  the  Spirit  of  Grace 
makes  his  soul  willing.  I  said,  I  will  confess  my 
transgression  to  the  Lord.  0  how  good  it  is  if  only 
the  sullen  silence  is  broken  and  he  begins  to  speak 
with  God  from  a  heart  freed  from  deceit.  The 
highest  instance  of  the  honor  which  he  can  give  to 
God  in  sincerely  returning  to  Him,  is  to  reject  all 
help  in  men  which  he  had  sought  before,  and  all 
creaturely  consolation,  to  sanctify  God  the  Lord 
in  his  heart,  and  to  seek  mercy  like  a  helpless  or- 
phan, as  our  Lord  Jesus  has  shown  us  that  we  are 
all  orphans,  teaching  us  to  seek  our  Father  in 
Heaven,  like  orphans  who  have  no  father  on 
earth." 

3.  It  is  significant  how  "  words  "  are  emphasized 
a.5  an  expression  of  such  repentance,  and  as  ex- 
plained by  the  contrast  to  "  sacrifices,"  literal  offer- 
ings of  animals,  every  external  legal  service.  Such 
sacrifices  are  not  needed  ;  "  words  "  are  sufficient ; 
these  are  the  true  sacrifices  well  pleasing  to  God  ; 
and  yet  they  must  be  words  that  express  a  right 
state  of  mind  within.  (On  the  other  hand  it  must 
be  remembered  that  words  are  no  guarantee  of  a  free- 
dom from  outward  lip-service.)  it  cannot  be  said 
with  certainty  from  this  brief  remark,  whether  the 
Prophet  contemplates  the  sacrifices  as  entirely  done 


away,  as  in  the  expected  time  of  the  coming  re- 
demption. The  main  object  is  to  speak  of  the  re- 
turn to  God,  and  it  is  clear  that  he  regards  this  aJ 
a  going  lorth  of  the  heart,  which  does  not  need 
the  intervention  of  any  sacrifice,  and  therefore  as 
a  prayerful  and  penitent  approach  to  Him  without 
the  medium  of  an  offering.  The  idea  is  certainly 
at  once  suggested  that  if  mercy  can  be  found  with- 
out sacrifices,  there  is  no  need  of  them  afterwards 
in  the  state  of  grace. 

4.  Such  a  return  presupposes  the  restoration 
of  God's  favor,  which  is  manifested  by  the  promise 
of  a  condition  of  rich  blessing.  On  this  promise 
a  restoration  into  their  own  country  is  not  indi- 
cated as  a  special  element,  although  it  is  evidently 
assumed,  as  exile  from  their  country  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  punishment  that  was  decreed,  ac- 
cording to  the  threatenings  of  chaps,  ix.-xi.  Th6 
promise  in  our  chapter  presents,  so  to  speak,  the 
positive  side,  after  the  negative  has  been  shown. 
Punishment  shall  not  merely  be  taken  away ; 
blessing  shall  be  restored  to  them,  through  which 
alone  a  return  to  their  country  is  to  be  gained. 
From  the  fact,  however,  that  here  at  the  close  of 
the  Book  such  a  return  is  not  promised,  it  is  to  be 
inferred  that  in  the  picture  of  the  future  redemp- 
tion which  the  Prophet  sketches,  such  return  is 
not  of  itself  the  most  important  element,  i.  e.,  the 
Prophecy  looks  beyond  it  and  towards  something 
greater  connected  with  it,  a  complete  manifesta- 
tion of  God's  favor  to  his  people,  which  finds  its 
expression  in  a  state  of  rich  and  wondrous  blessed- 
ness. This  we  designate  the  Messianic  character 
of  the  prophetic  promise.  It  is  therefore  clear  that 
we  are  not  to  seek  the  fulfillment  of  this  promise 
in  premessianic  time  ;  apart  from  the  considera- 
tion that  it  did  not  then  appear.  The  Messiah 
Himself,  according  to  the  statement  of  the  prom- 
ise, did  not  accomplish  it  as  consisting  in  the  glori- 
ous bloom  and  vigor  of  the  people  ;  nor  will  He 
do  so,  simply  because  He  has  already  brought  a 
still  higher  disclosure  of  God's  mercy,  and  will 
yet  introduce  a  more  glorious  display,  in  which 
the  whole  believing  people  of  God  will  enjoy  (out- 
ward and  inward)  blessedness,  as  the  nation  of  Is- 
rael will  no  longer  be  the  object  of  special  favor. 

5.  The  promise  here  made  to  the  people  of  Is- 
rael, that  of  full  bloom  and  prosperity,  and  vigor, 
through  the  influence  of  God's  grace — still  chiefly 
in  a  temporal  sense,  —  shall  be  fulfilled  for  all  be- 
lievers as  God's  true  people  in  a  higher  sense:  they 
shall  be  perpetually  bedewed  with  power  from 
God.  The  favor  of  God  is  ever  fresh  and  bloom- 
ing for  them,  and  they  enjoy  its  fruits  without  in- 
termission, as  they  themselves  become  like  a  liv- 
ing, firmly-rooted,  wide-spreading,  never-fading, 
sweet-smelling  tree.  All  this  has  its  beginning 
even  now,  as  surely  as  the  divine  favor  brought  to 
us  through  Christ  is  a  reality,  but  shall  only  find 
its  complete  perfection  when  the  kingdom  of  God 
shall  have  attained  its  complete  realization. 

6.  "  It  is  the  object  of  the  Prophet  Hosea  and 
of  all  Prophecy,  in  the  spirit  of  ver.  10,  to  alarm 
and  to  warn  the  apostate,  to  confirm  and  to  com- 
fort the  converted,  and  to  glorify  the  Lord" 
(Schmieder).  Only  the  ways  of  the  Lord  are 
right.  Then  inevitable  destruction  must  befall 
him  who  departs  from  them.  True  wisdom  is  to 
regard  them,  and  all  the  prophetic  Scriptures  are 
like  an  uplifted  finger,  which  warns  against  any 
departure  from  them,  and  at  the  same  time  like 
an  outstretched  finger  which  pomts  to  the  way 
upon  which  the  righteous  rau-t  walk. 


LOO 


HOSEA. 


HOMILETPJAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

Vera.  2-9.  Franke  :  He  who  would  read  what 
is  sweet  and  agreeable,  should  read  the  close  of 
all  the  Prophets.  They  are  like  a  choir  of  sing- 
ers, one  singing  one  part,  another  another ;  but  at 
last  they  all  dwell  upon  one  note.  The  glory  of 
Christ's  Church  at  last  is  the  finale. 

Ver.  2.  This  is  the  key-note  of  all  Prophecy ; 
it  always  comes  back  to  this.  This  warning  is 
the  most  needed  and  the  weightiest  of  all.  All 
God's  judgments  have  this  as  their  aim.  They 
cry  out  earnestly :  Return.  O  that  we  might  hear ! 
It  is  well  to  hear  when  God  calls  through  his 
deeds ;  but  it  is  better  to  hear  his  Words.  "  To 
thy  God,"  not  to  a  strange  God,  but  to  One  from 
whom  so  much  good  has  beeu  experienced,  and 
who  remains,  the  God  of  mercy  and  our  God,  even 
when  He  must  punish  us.  Return  !  (1)  the  ob- 
ject: to  the  Lord,  thy  God ;  (2)  the  reason :  be- 
cause thou  hast  fallen  through  thy  iniquity. 

[Matt.  Henry  :  Sin  is  a  fall,  and  it  concerns 
those  who  have  fallen  by  sin  to  get  up  again  by 
repentance. 

Fausset  :  God  assures  us  that  He  is  the  God 
of  his  people,  and  invites  us  not  merely  to  return 
towards,  but  never  to  rest  until  we  have  reached 
even  up  to  Himself —  to  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
short  of  Himself.  —  M.] 

Ver.  3.  Words  are  nothing  unless  they  come 
from  the  depths  of  the  heart.  But  when  they 
come  from  thence,  as  did  the  Publican's  prayer, 
and  David's  psalm  of  confession,  then,  though 
seemingly  slight  and  less  than  "  sacrifices,"  they 
are  in  truth  as  great  and  naturally  more  than  all 
merely  outward  offerings,  since  they  are  measured 
according  to  the  disposition  of  the  heart.  All 
grief  over  sin  avails  nothing  without  the  prayer 
for  forgiveness  addressed  to  God.  Not  repentance 
but  forgiveness,  gives  rest  and  peace. 

[Posey  :  What  other  good  can  we  offer  than 
detestation  of  our  past  sins  with  burning  aesire  of 
holiness  ? 

Fausset  :  What  so  cheap  as  words  ?  And  yet 
words  such  as  God  requires  are  not  natural  to 
fallen  man.  The  Spirit  of  God  alone  can  teach 
such  words.  In  Gospel  times  we  have  no  longer 
burdensome  literal  sacrifices  to  offer,  but  we  have 
an  offering  continually  to  render  which  is  more 
acceptable  to  Him  (Ps.  lxix.  30,  31),  the  thanks- 
givings of  unfeigned  "  lips,"  sanctified  through  the 
offering  of  Christ  once  for  all.  —  M.] 

Ver.  4.  God  is  gracious  to  orphans.  O  that  all 
orphaned  ones  might  turn  to  God's  mercy  ! 

[Pusey  :  He  is  indeed  fatherless  who  hath  not 
God  for  his  Father. 

Ver.  5.  Pusey  :  Steadfastness  to  the  end  is 
the  special  gift  of  the  Gospel.  In  healing  that 
disease  of  unsteadfastness  God  heals  all  besides. 
—  M.] 

Ver.  6.  Starke  :  God  alone  can  truly  revive 
the  heart.  Let  him  who  needs  comfort  and  re- 
freshing seek  them  in  God. 

Pfaff.  Bibelwerk:  See  how  believers  bloom 
in  their  holiness,  strike  root,  bring  forth  fruit,  and 


diffuse  fragrance  all  around  !  Art  thou  also  sucb 
a  fruitful  tree  displaying  such  vigor  of  spiritual 
life? 

[Fausset  :  All  that  is  beautiful,  solid,  harmon- 
ious, and  enduring  shall  be  found  in  harmonious 
unison  in  the  "trees  of  righteousness,"  etc.  (Is. 
lxi.  3). 

Pusey  :  Such  reunion  of  qualities,  being  be- 
yond nature,  suggests  the  more,  that  that  wherein 
they  are  all  combined,  the  future  Israel,  the  Church, 
shall  flourish  with  graces  that  are  beyond  nature, 
in  their  manifoldness,  completeness,  unfadingness. 
—  M.] 

Ver.  9.  0  that  God  could  speak  thus  of  us, 
finding  in  us  no  idolatry,  nor  needing  to  plead 
with  us  any  longer  because  of  our  idols !  What 
better  thing  could  we  wish  than  that  God  would 
regard  us  in  mercy  ?  In  Christ  this  is  realized. 
In  Him  he  is  also  as  an  evergreen  tree  of  life  to 
believers  ;  his  mercy  never  ceases,  and  from  its 
fullness  they  may  all  receive  grace  for  grace.  He 
is  for  them  an  evergreen  tree  of  life,  but  also  one 
whose  fruit  never  fails,  and  ever  nourishes. 

[Matt.  Henry  :  God  will  be  to  all  true  con- 
verts both  a  delight  and  a  defense  ;  under  his  pro- 
tection and  influence  they  shall  both  dwell  in 
safety  and  dwell  at  ease.  He  will  be  either  a  sun 
and  a  shield,  or  a  shade  and  a  shield,  as  their  caso 
requires. 

Pusey  :  Created  beauty  must  at  best  be  but  a 
faint  image  of  the  beauty  of  the  soul  in  grace; 
for  this  is  from  the  indwelling  of  God  the  Holy 
Ghost.  —  M.] 

Ver.  10.  God's  ways  are  direct;  we  must  there- 
fore not  follow  roundabout  or  crooked  courses, 
but  go  straight  forward  in  faith  and  labor;  a 
straight  course  makes  the  best  runner.  Righte- 
ousness brings  a  blessing ;  unfaithfulness  a  curse, 
remains  the  simple  and  infallible  rule  of  living, 
attested  by  God's  word,  and  confirmed  by  experi- 
ence. 

Luther  :  Let  us  thank  the  merciful  Father  of 
Jesus  Christ,  for  these  greatest  gifts,  that  He  has 
revealed  to  us  these  direct  ways,  and  pray  that 
He  would  guide  by  his  Holy  Spirit_  those  that 
walk  therein,  and  preserve  us  to  eternity. 

[Matt.  Henry  :  God's  discovery  of  Himself, 
both  in  the  judgments  of  his  mouth,  and  the  judg- 
ments of  his  hand,  is  to  us  according  as  we  are 
affected  by  it.  The  same  sun  softens  wax  and 
hardens  clay.  But  of  all  transgressors,  those  cer- 
tainly have  the  most  dangerous  fatal  falls  that  fall 
in  the  way  of  God,  that  split  on  the  Rock  of  Ages, 
that  suck  poison  cut  of  the  balm  in  Gilead.  Let 
sinners  in  Zion  be  afraid  of  this. 

Pusey  God  reveals  his  ways  to  us  not  that  we 
may  know  them  only,  but  that  we  may  do  them. 
The  life  of  grace  is  a  life  of  progress.  Every  at- 
tribute or  gift  or  revelation  of  God,  which  is  full 
of  comfort  to  the  believer,  becomes  in  turn  an  oc- 
casion of  stumbling  to  the  rebellious.  With  this 
the  Prophet  sums  up  all  the  teaching  of  the  sev- 
enty years  of  his  ministry.  This  is  to  us  the  end 
of  all ;  this  is  thy  choice,  O  Christian  sonl,  to  walk 
in  God's  ways,  or  to  stumble  at  them.  —  M.] 


Date  Due 


